April 25, 2014 1:58PM 

# *WaPo*’s Bridge Story Is Structurally Deficient 

By [Chris Edwards](https://www.cato.org/people/chris-edwards) 

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Oh dear, [yet another scare story](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/us-has-63000-bridges-that-need-significant-repairs-local-governments-turn-to-congress/2014/04/24/17137338-cb24-11e3-a75e-463587891b57_story.html?tid=hpModule_308f7142-9199-11e2-bdea-e32ad90da239) about falling-down bridges. A *Washington Post* headline today in the hardcopy is “63,000 Bridges Structurally Deficient, U.S. Says.”

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released [its annual data on bridge conditions](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/deficient.cfm), and indeed the data show that 63,522 bridges were “structurally deficient” in 2013. That sounds like a lot, but it is out of 607,751 total U.S. bridges.

Here’s what nearly all media stories on this topic gloss over: the share of U.S. bridges that are structurally deficient has been falling steadily for more than two decades. The chart below ([based on FHWA data](http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/deficient.cfm)) shows that the share of U.S. bridges that are structurally deficient fell from 22 percent in 1992 to just 10 percent in 2013.

![Media Name: edwards.bridges.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/edwards.bridges.jpg?itok=nGVqr8s-) 

The chart clearly shows good news on the bridge front, but many reporters focus on the bad news angle favored by construction lobby groups.

The *WaPo* story reflects lobbyist pleas that the states need the federal government to fix their bridges. But why? If Pennsylvania has “the nation’s worst problem,” then the Pennsylvania legislature should find a solution—either reprioritize the state budget, start [privatizing bridges](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/infrastructure-investment), charge bridge tolls, or find other funding sources. No need to look to Washington. Uncle Sam is not Santa Claus.

For more on our (supposedly) crumbling infrastructure, see [here](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/crumbling-infrastructure), [here](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/infrastructure-not-problem), [here](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/crumbling-bridges),

##### Related Tags 

[Department of Transportation](https://www.cato.org/department-transportation), [Downsizing Government](https://www.cato.org/downsizing-government) 

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