JACKI LYDEN, host:
The tragedy in Minnesota is raising awareness and public concern over the many thousands of other bridges around the country in need of repairs. Rhode Island is a state that has the dubious distinction of being ranked worst in the nation for the percentage of its bridges rated either deficient or obsolete by federal standards.
NPR's Chris Arnold begins this report from high atop one of those structures.
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CHRIS ARNOLD: I'm driving over the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge in Rhode Island and this is one of 176 bridges in the state that are listed as structurally deficient. Now, state officials say that that doesn't mean that they're going to fall down. It just means that it's time to start thinking about doing some repairs on them. But that number of bridges being in disrepair is alarming to some people in Rhode Island.
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Ms. HEIDI GROULEN(ph) (Resident, Newport, Rhode Island): We've been going back and forth to Newport almost daily and to go to the beach and it definitely affected me. I don't want to go over as much as we can.
ARNOLD: But Heidi Groulen and her three kids have no choice. They're having ice cream cones on an island in Narragansett Bay. This whole coastal area is linked by bridges that Heidi says she's been reading in the paper about how many bridges around here need work and thinking about the Minnesota collapse.
Ms. GROULEN: For a car to go off a bridge and falling to the water, it's all the way down and the thoughts that would be going through your head, it's just horrible. I feel so badly for those people in Minnesota.
ARNOLD: State officials here have been taking issue with local press reports about the dismal ranking for the condition of Rhode Island bridges. Kazem Farhoumand is deputy chief engineer for the state Department of Transportation.
Mr. KAZEM FARHOUMAND (Deputy Chief Engineer, Department of Transportation, Rhode Island): Our bridges are safe.
ARNOLD: Farhoumand says it's not really accurate or fair to say that Rhode Island or any other state has the worst bridge record based on federal bridge ratings. He says labels like structurally deficient or functionally obsolete are very broad and probably misleading for average people. One deficient bridge could just be in need of very minor repairs and another might need a massive overhaul. He says a sturdy bridge might be labeled obsolete just because the clearance over the road below isn't say the currently required 15 feet.
Mr. FARHOUMAND: Many of our bridges have the clearance of about 14 to 14 feet(ph). Those are perfectly safe for, you know, today's trucks. They operate fine. It's just that they do not meet the desired criteria.
ARNOLD: That said, Farhoumand acknowledges that Rhode Island has a large number of bridges in need of at least minor structural repairs. The northeastern U.S. faces more challenges than many other parts of the country because its infrastructures are older and the harsh winter has taken a constant toll. And, he says, he would like to do more.
Mr. FARHOUMAND: We absolutely need more money. Many other state agencies are in the same, you know, shape as we are. Their needs far exceed the available resources.
ARNOLD: A lot of outside experts agree with that. David Mongan is president-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The group recently did a report card on U.S. infrastructure. The country overall got a D grade. Its bridges got a C.
Mr. DAVID MONGAN (President-Elect, American Society of Civil Engineers): Yes, there is something to be concerned about. But it's not concern in terms of being afraid to drive over a bridge or through a tunnel. Our bridges and tunnels and other parts of our infrastructure that might be subject to a collapse are relatively very safe.
ARNOLD: Mongan says that's because critical structures are always the top priority but he says the country needs to spend 50 percent more than its currently planning to over the next five years to improve all aspects of its aging infrastructure - water systems, the electricity grids, sewer systems, roads, tunnels and bridges.
Chris Arnolds, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
