A report released this week by the TRIP group a private non profit organization shows that Iowa has the third worst bridges in the country with 22 percent structurally deficient. South Dakota was the fourth worst with 21 percent and Nebraska was the sixth worst at 18 percent. Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek says that’s a disturbing report for farmers trying to get their goods to market.
Steenhoek says with dwindling dollars at both the federal and state levels it’s important to figure out what causes these problems and strategically address the proper fixes.
He says a recent pilot project his group did found they were able to get more valuable information on bridge problems by doing load testing rather than visual analysis.
Steenhoek notes that the three states listed near the bottom for structurally deficient bridges, Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska all took positive steps during their legislative sessions to pass transportation funding measures.