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FHWA Home / Policy & Governmental Affairs / 2002 Conditions and Performance

Conditions and Performance


Status of the Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit:
2002 Conditions and Performance Report

Exhibit 11-45:

Year of Construction and Cumulative ADT for Traditional Bridge Designs

Exhibit 11-45

Exhibit 11-45 is a bar graph that shows the construction of bridges using traditional design. The vertical axis measures number of bridges from 0 to 50,000 in increments of 5,000 bridges. The horizontal axis has 21 bars, one for each 5-year period between 1900 and 2000. New traditional design bridges were at just under 10,000 before 1900. The numbers rise gradually from 2,000 in 1901-05 to 25,000 in 1936-40. The figure dropped during WWII then rose sharply to a peak of 47,000 in 1961-65. The bars then fluctuate between 28,000 and 38,000 between 1971 and 1995 before settling at 25,500 in 2000. There are also two lines and a second vertical axis (measuring percentages from 0 to 100 in increments of 10 percent) in this chart. The first, representing cumulative percent of bridge population, rises from 0 percent in 1900 to 10 percent in 1930, 30 percent by 1955, 50 by 1965, 80 by 1985, and 100 by 2000. The other line, representing cumulative percentage of ADT for bridge designs, rises from 0 percent in 1900 to 10 percent in 1945, 30 percent by 1960, 50 by 1965 (where it overlaps the first line), 80 by 1980, and 100 by 2000
Source: National Bridge Inventory.


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Page last modified on November 7, 2014
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