Iowa’s Roads And Bridges Among The Nation’s Worst

If 'Life is a Highway' as the popular song suggests, then Iowa is going through a midlife crisis. Poor roadways and old and structurally unsafe bridges have landed Iowa at #9 on the list of the states with the worst infrastructure in the United States.

A new study found that more than 20% of Iowa's 24,215 bridges are deemed 'structurally deficient' by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. That's worst in the nation. But whats even worse is that Iowans travel across bad bridges 1.3 million times every day!

One of the state's worst bridges is located in Johnson County. That would be the Gilbert Street bridge over Ralston Creek. Built in 1972, it sees over 14,000 vehicles cross it every day. It's ranked the ninth worst bridge in the state. Iowa's roadways rank only slightly better, with 9% listed to be in poor condition. That stat is good for 11th worst in the country. The obvious problem according to engineers is the extreme weather conditions. Heat in the summer and snow and cold in the winter causes havoc on the pavement.

Despite the poor road conditions, Iowa ranks 12th highest in the nation in the amount it spends on highways per driver, at around $680.

[via Des Moines Register]