STATE

After Baltimore bridge collapse, drivers may wonder: How safe are Florida bridges? Here’s how we rank

C. A. Bridges
USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

It's what every driver fears. Early Tuesday morning the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a 1.6-mile, four-lane steel bridge across the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland. completely collapsed after a large cargo ship smacked into it.

Rescue operations are still ongoing. Several vehicles on the bridge plunged into the river, Baltimore City Fire Department Chief James Wallace said at a news conference, Two people have been rescued and up to seven others, including possibly some construction workers, were in the water, he said.

The video is horrifying, and it brought back memories of Florida's own bridge disaster in 1980 when a freighter hit the Sunshine Skyway bridge, collapsing 1,200 feet of it and sending cars and a Greyhound Bus into Tampa Bay. Thirty-five people died.

And it brings up the immediate question for concerned commuters Tuesday: How safe are the other bridges in the United States?

In 2020 USA TODAY reported that 7.6% of all the bridges across the country needed replacement or repair. (Note that the Baltimore bridge collapsed after being struck by a container ship, it is still unknown to what degree, if any, the bridge's condition played a part.)

How do Florida's bridges stack up?

Nearly 1,500 Florida bridges need repair

According to the latest bridge inspections, Florida has identified 1,438 bridges of the 13,050 across the state that need repair, up from 1,025 in 2023 and 984 in 2019, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

Of those, 456 (3.5%) are considered "structurally deficient." A bridge qualifies as structurally deficient if the condition rating is 4 (poor) or below for one of the three primary components, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration: the deck, the superstructure, and the substructure.

Bridges longer than 20 feet (6.1 meters) on public roads are required to be inspected every two years and are ranked from 8 (excellent) to 0 (failed).

How do Florida bridges compare to the U.S.?

Florida actually ranks very well in bridge conditions, with relatively well-maintained roads and without having to deal with the harsh winter, snow and ice conditions the northern states experience. According to the ARTBA report, in 2023 Florida was:

  • 43rd in the nation in percentage of structurally deficient bridges
  • 30th in the nation in number of structurally deficient bridges
  • 46th in the country in percentage of structurally deficient deck area

What are the most-traveled, structurally deficient bridges in Florida?

According to the ARTBA report, these are the top ten most-traveled bridges in Florida that were considered structurally deficient in 2023. Click each one for details.