TAMPA, Fla — The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced $27 billion in funding to replace repair and rehabilitate bridges across the country.
The infrastructure bill states Florida will receive $245 million for bridge replacement and repair over the next five years.
According to the DOT’s dashboard, there are 408 bridges in Florida that are in poor condition. The dashboard doesn’t specify which bridges those are.
The dashboard states the five year plan is to repair the 408 bridges in poor condition with the $245 million from federal funding. For the 2022 federal fiscal year, Florida will receive $49 million in federal aid to replace and preserve bridges.
The money for repairing bridges is a part of the $1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill signed by President Joe Biden.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) puts out a bridge inventory report yearly. From the 2021 report, it states there are 12,595 bridges in Florida. That report states approximately 94.63 percent of the FDOT maintained bridges are in excellent or good condition.
Not all bridges are maintained by FDOT. Counties and cities also maintain bridges, but FDOT maintains the majority of bridges in Florida. The report states the percentage of bridges maintained by the county that are in excellent or good condition is 78.55 percent, then 81.86 percent for city/town bridges, and 74.17 percent for other agency bridges.
When designing bridges, those constructed before 1960 were designed with a service life of 50 years. Bridges designed after 1960 are created with a service life of 75 years.
FDOT breaks down bridges by districts. The Tampa Bay area falls into districts one and seven.
District one consists of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee, Okeechobee, Polk and Sarasota counties. Within district one, FDOT reports there are 2.7 million residents who travel 42 million miles daily.
District seven consists of Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. Within district seven, FDOT reports there are 2,884,600 residents who travel 33.6 million miles daily.
The Florida bridge inventory report states out of the 2,168 bridges in district one, 33 are in poor condition. For district seven, out of the 1,376 bridges, 15 are in poor condition. The report doesn’t specify which bridges those are.
While the FDOT hasn’t put out a list of which bridges in Florida will see repairs with the federal funding, there are 408 bridges across the state in poor condition.
The American Road & Transportation Builder Association reports a bridge in poor condition means one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition.
That same report stated out of the 408 bridges classified as structurally deficient, seven of them are on the interstate highway system.
The report states Florida identified repairs needed on 1,003 bridges and estimated the cost would be $2.7 billion.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to a spokesperson with FDOT regarding the funding Florida will receive.
"The formula used to calculate the amount given to states penalizes Florida for doing its job and proactively maintaining the infrastructure that Floridians need every day. Florida has more than 12,500 bridges statewide, and the Bridge Formula Program has identified 408 bridges that are in poor condition. Despite the claims from the federal government that the funding is based off the number of bridges in disrepair, some states with a similar or fewer number of bridges in disrepair are receiving more funding than Florida," said Beth Frady, a communications director for FDOT.
By looking at the FHWA’s National Bridge Inventory data, 10 Tampa Bay was able to narrow down which of the 408 bridges in poor condition are in the Tampa Bay area.
Bridges are listed by a structure number and the county they are located in. Within the FHWA National Bridge Inventory, there is a map which gives the location of the bridge. Other information like when the bridge was inspected, who maintains it and the age of the bridge are also included in the chart on the website.
Bridges in the Tampa Bay area that are in poor condition are as follows,
- Polk County – Structure #164304– intersected at Tiger Creek – 5.3 mi south of SR 60 – Walk in Water Road near Old Tiger Creek Tail
- Pinellas County – Structure #157154 – located on 40th Ave NE near 12th St NE
- Manatee County – Structure #134072 – located on 51st St W near 29ths Ave W
- Sarasota County – Structure #176001 – located on Capri Isles Blvd over Curry Creek near Bridle Oaks Dr
- Hillsborough County – Structure #104253 – located on Newberger Road near Pine Bluff Drive
- Pasco County – Structure #140059 – located on Osowaw Blvd 595 near Littell Road
- Hillsborough County – Structure #105604 – located on S Maydell Dr near S Murrhee Road
- Hillsborough County – Structure #104320 – located on Phillips Lane near Eugene Acres Lane
- Pinellas County – Structure #150049 – located on Pinellas Bayway 679 – connecting Tierra Verde to Isla Del Sol
- Pasco County – Structure #144011 – located on Pasco Road near Sorrento Lane
- Pinellas County – Structure #157117 – located on Dr MLK Jr St S near 7th Ave S
- Sarasota County – Structure #175030 – Inkwood Dr near Langlais Dr
- Pinellas County – Structure #157302 – located on 38th St S near 22nd Ave S
- Pinellas County – Structure #154207 – located on S Belcher Road near Egret Dr
- Sarasota County – Structure #174069 – located on S Tuttle Ave over Phillippi Creek near Valencia Dr
- Sarasota County – Structure #174063 – located on S Gondola Dr near Claw Ct
- Pinellas County – Structure #157235 – located on 11th Ave S near 5th St S
- Pinellas County – Structure #154153 – located on Ridgemoor Blvd near Tarpon Woods Blvd
- Hillsborough County – Structure #104600 – located on Northdale Blvd near Autumn Leaves Dr
- Pasco County – Structure #140050 – located on Grand Blvd near Tidalwave Dr
On January 3, 2022, there was a Florida bridge information report published. This details when every bridge in Florida was constructed, updated if applicable and when it was last inspected.
Looking at other states like California and New York, Florida has less bridges in poor condition.
In California, the dashboard states there are 1,536 bridges in poor condition. In New York, the dashboard reports here are 1,702 bridges in poor condition.