Poor and Weight-Restricted Bridges

About Missouri’s Bridges

MoDOT is responsible for maintaining nearly 10,400 bridges on the state system. The average age of our bridges is 48 years and most of them were designed to last 50 years. Sixty percent of Missouri’s bridges are beyond their original intended life.

We currently have 837 bridges that have been rated “poor” using Federal Highway Administration criteria. This past year, 87 bridges were added to the "poor" category and 143 were removed from the "poor" category for a net decrease of 56 "poor" bridges. The number of poor bridges in Missouri continues to hover around our asset management goal of 900. We will continue to work towards reducing the number of poor bridges in Missouri as additional federal and state revenue becomes available.

Bridges are rated on a nine-point scale, with 9 being a new bridge and 2 being a closed bridge. Missouri’s poor bridges carry a rating of 4 or less.

This situation is symptomatic of where we are. We have the nation’s 7th largest system of roads and bridges but our funding is 45th nationally in revenue per mile. We can only stretch our dollars so far and must prioritize our work.

A Thorough Inspection Process

All bridges are inspected regularly in accordance with federal law, typically every two years. If a bridge has known problems, it is inspected more frequently. If a bridge is open to traffic it is safe; however, as our bridges age and deteriorate, we are having to close them more often.

There are 963 of our bridges that are weight restricted which means they are unable to carry some normal traffic. Examples of what some common vehicles weigh are shown in the graphic here.

Condition Ratings and Common Bridge Terms

What exactly do we mean when we say bridges are “poor” and “weight restricted?” Click on the link below to learn more about condition ratings and bridge terms.