One out of every seven bridges in Macon County is “structurally deficient,” including some of the region’s most critical and heavily traveled transportation links, according to federal data on the safety of crossings across the nation.
The ranking from the Federal Highway Administration equates to 13 percent of county’s 346 bridges, placing it above the national average of 9.1 percent.
Deficient bridges are not in any danger to collapse, but they do require significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement due to issues such as a deteriorating bridge deck or its foundation, according to federal standards. Those bridges are also required to undergo frequent inspections.
“We know where the problem bridges are,” said Rick Marley, public works director for Decatur. “We would never allow any bridge to get in danger of collapse.”
Out of 346 bridges in Macon County, 49 were considered “structurally deficient” as of 2016.
That same year, the county had 14 bridges that were considered “functionally obsolete,” which means bridges that cannot handle the required traffic needs. That can mean anything from lanes being too narrow to weight limit not being high enough.
Bridges are rated on a “sufficiency scale” from 0 to 100, with bridges scoring 50 or below generally classified as structurally deficient.