Maine Bridges Rank Poorly With Safety Group

One in seven bridges in Maine is structurally deficient. Yikes...

The national safety advocacy group Transportation for America ranked Maine 9th out of 50 states for deficient bridges according to the Federal Highway Administration's standards.

Transportation officals say that the study is more evidence Maine needs more funding for bridge repairs. U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud is using this ranking to push for more funding from the SAFE Bridges Act which provides $2.75 billion to states for bridge repairs.

Maine has just over 2,500 bridges with 356 deemed deficient. It's important to note the the term 'deficient' dose not mean the bridge is unsafe for travel, it simply means it needs repair to remain safe. Maine also reduced its number of deficient bridges by 8.2% from 2011-2012.