Site: I-17 overpass is most traveled structurally deficient Arizona bridge
Jun 10, 2017, 6:19 AM | Updated: Jun 15, 2017, 12:15 pm
PHOENIX — An I-17 overpass was named the most-traveled structurally deficient bridge in Arizona in an online report.
Business Insider based its claim based on a report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.
The group said the I-17 bridge — over 19th Avenue near downtown Phoenix — is the most-traveled structurally deficient bridge in the state.
According to that report, the bridge was built in 1961 and sees 123,000 daily crossings.
The report classified a bridge as structurally deficient if “one or more of the key bridge elements, such as the deck, superstructure or substructure, is considered to be in ‘poor’ or worse condition.”
It’s important to note the report did not say the I-17 overpass was the most structurally deficient bridge in the state, but the one that sees the most daily traffic.
The Arizona Department of Transportation said the overpass has received repairs and is no longer considered structurally deficient.
A website called UglyBridges.com claims to be a searchable version of the National Bridge Inventory. Their data showed the bridge with the lowest sufficiency rating in Arizona is near Sky Harbor Airport, but it has been closed to all traffic.
The ARTBA report said 3 percent of Arizona bridges are considered structurally deficient.
It also said Arizona has identified 2,336 bridges that need some sort of repair. It would cost $1 billion to fix them all.
