One in three U.S. bridges needs fixing – these 11 are long overdue

Aging spans and crumbling decks

More than 41,000 bridges across the United States are rated in poor condition, and 163 million vehicles cross them every day.

One in three bridges nationwide needs repair or replacement, but at the current pace, fixing the backlog would take many years.

After the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore in 2024, federal investigators flagged 68 more spans as vulnerable to ship strikes. Some of the bridges on this list are crumbling from age.

Others were built before modern safety standards existed. All of them have engineers concerned.

Brent Spence Bridge, Ohio

This double-decker bridge connecting Cincinnati to northern Kentucky carries 160,000 vehicles daily, more than double its original design capacity.

The American Transportation Research Institute ranked it the 8th worst truck bottleneck in the nation in 2025.

The bridge has not been restriped since 1985, and its narrow lanes and lack of shoulders make accidents three to five times more likely than on other stretches of I-71 and I-75.

A $3.6 billion companion bridge project is set to begin construction in early 2026, with completion expected around 2029.

Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, New York

The BQE’s triple-cantilever section through Brooklyn Heights is falling apart.

A 2020 report warned that overweight trucks and faster-than-expected deterioration could make sections unsafe within five years. By 2026, the expressway may ban trucks altogether from the 1.5-mile stretch between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street.

The city reduced lanes from three to two in 2021 to lighten the load. Repair costs are estimated between $2 billion and $4 billion, and construction is not expected to begin until 2029.

Calcasieu River Bridge, Louisiana

This 70-year-old bridge on I-10 near Lake Charles holds a sufficiency rating of just 6.6 out of 100, making it one of the most dangerous in America.

It was designed for 37,000 vehicles daily but now handles over 90,000. The lanes are narrow, there are no shoulders, the grade is steep, and the lighting is poor.

The bridge ranks 7th nationally among spans needing replacement. A $2.1 billion replacement project is in the design phase, with construction expected to begin in 2026 and the new bridge opening by 2031.

Washington Bridge, Rhode Island

In July 2023, this bridge carrying I-195 over the Seekonk River passed inspection. Six months later, engineers discovered broken anchor rods that put it at imminent risk of collapse.

The westbound span was abruptly closed in December 2023, snarling traffic for over 90,000 daily commuters. The state has since demolished the entire westbound structure.

Rebuilding will cost up to $570 million, and the new bridge is expected to open in November 2028.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether federal funds were misused.

Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, Washington

This 60-year-old bridge connecting DC to Arlington carries nearly 95,000 vehicles daily and has been classified as structurally deficient.

In 2021, emergency inspections revealed significant rust deterioration on floor beams that could not have been detected during routine checks.

A $128 million rehabilitation project began in April 2025 and will last nearly four years. The work includes replacing the entire deck, widening sidewalks, and upgrading traffic barriers.

Lane closures are expected to snarl commuter traffic through 2028.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Maryland

The Bay Bridge spans are 70 and 50 years old respectively, built decades before modern ship-collision standards existed.

A Johns Hopkins analysis projected the bridge could experience a catastrophic vessel collision every 86 years, placing it among the 12 most vulnerable in the country.

The NTSB called out Maryland for never conducting a vulnerability assessment. The state is now committing $160 million to install protective fenders and artificial islands.

In December 2025, officials approved a $17 billion plan to eventually replace both spans entirely.

Golden Gate Bridge, California

The NTSB flagged this iconic 1937 span as one of 68 bridges nationwide needing urgent vulnerability assessment for ship-strike risk.

The bridge was built long before the 1991 standards that now govern vessel collision protection.

In response to the NTSB report, the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District hired consultants in 2025 to assess the South Tower fender system’s capacity to withstand ship collisions.

The district says the bridge is in full compliance with current regulations, but the assessment is ongoing.

Brooklyn Bridge, New York

One of New York’s most famous landmarks made the NTSB’s list of 68 bridges requiring immediate vessel collision evaluation.

Built in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge predates any modern bridge safety standards by more than a century.

While the East River rarely sees cargo ships the size of the Dali, which took down the Key Bridge, the NTSB is urging all bridge owners to calculate their risk levels.

New York’s Department of Transportation has not yet publicly released its assessment plans for this span.

Huey P. Long Bridge, Louisiana

This 90-year-old cantilevered steel bridge carries both rail and vehicle traffic across the Mississippi River near New Orleans. It made the NTSB’s vessel-strike warning list alongside seven other Louisiana bridges.

The state completed a $1.2 billion widening project in 2013, expanding the highway from two lanes to three in each direction.

Louisiana officials say they have conducted vulnerability assessments and have mitigation measures in place, including vessel tracking systems and tugboat escorts for large tankers.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida

The collapse of the original Sunshine Skyway in 1980, which killed 35 people when a freighter struck it, inspired the modern ship-collision standards that AASHTO published in 1991.

The replacement bridge, completed in 1987, was designed with those lessons in mind.

But the NTSB found that even this bridge lacks a current vulnerability assessment based on today’s larger vessels and increased maritime traffic.

Florida transportation officials have been asked to evaluate whether the bridge meets acceptable risk thresholds.

William Preston Lane Jr. Bay Bridge, Maryland

This is the eastbound span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and it has its own entry on the NTSB’s warning list.

Opened in 1952, it is more than 70 years old and was never assessed for vessel collision vulnerability until the NTSB demanded one in 2025.

The span carries two lanes of eastbound traffic and sees over 100,000 vehicles on peak summer Saturdays.

Maryland is now developing a comprehensive risk reduction plan that includes reduced ship speeds, one-way vessel transits, and potential traffic holds during large ship passages.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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