September 6, 2024
By Lane Kimble
Contractors and WisDOT have put a dent in the number of bridges in poor or worse condition in Wisconsin over the past few years, but a lot more work–and money to support it–is needed.
That’s the state-specific analysis from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) latest Bridge Report, released this week.
The report shows 942 of Wisconsin’s more than 14,000 bridges need major repairs or replacements, which is down from 979 in 2020.
Funding from the five-year Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has helped. Wisconsin currently has access to $135 million of the $225 million in total funding it will receive from the IIJA, committing about $81 million of that to 291 projects so far.
Nationally, ARTBA found nearly 222,000 bridges need repairs, but there was a slight decrease in the number of bridges in poor condition since 2020. Fixing all of those would require about $400 billion, ARTBA estimates.
“While improvements can take time, every bridge repair increases the safety and efficiency of our network for the traveling public,” ARTBA Chief Economist Dr. Alison Premo Black said.
