| Conditions and Performance
Chapter Listing
Conditions and
Performance Home Page
Introduction
Summary
Economics-Based Approach to Transportation
Investments
Highway
Investment Requirements
Bridge
Investment Requirements
Combined
Highway and Bridge Investment Requirements
Transit
Investment Requirements
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Bridge Investment Requirements
The bridge investment requirements shown in this report are developed
primarily from the Bridge Needs and Investment Process (BNIP). Using the
National Bridge Inventory, the process identifies bridge deficiencies, selects
improvements, and simulates the costs of these improvements. An engineering
ranking scheme is used to prioritize potential actions.
As defined in this report, the bridge investment backlog represents the cost
of improving all bridges that are currently deficient. BNIP estimates that
$87.3 billion of investment would be required to repair or replace all
functionally obsolete or structurally deficient bridges.
More than half of all existing bridge deficiencies are structural
deficiencies. If these types of deficiencies are not corrected in a timely
manner, further deterioration could require major rehabilitation or bridge
replacement. These actions cost significantly more than highway pavement repair
on a unit cost basis. In addition, deferred investments on deficient bridges
may impose public safety hazards more dangerous than the risks of deferred
pavement improvements.
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