Hundreds Of Connecticut Bridges 'Structurally Deficient': Report

More than 330 Connecticut bridges, or 8 percent of the state's 4,214 bridges, are classified as "structurally deficient," according to a new report by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

The association analyzed recently released 2016 data from the National Bridge Inventory from the United States Department of Transportation, which says that nationally, nearly 56,000 bridges throughout the country are considered structurally deficient.

"America’s highway network is woefully underperforming. It is outdated, overused, underfunded and in desperate need of modernization," says Dr. Alison Premo Black, chief economist for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, in a statement. "State and local transportation departments haven’t been provided the resources to keep pace with the nation’s bridge needs."

In Connecticut, more than 1,000 bridges, or approximately 25 percent, have been classified by the federal DOT as "functionally obsolete."

Of the state's 25 most traveled bridges that are deemed structurally deficient, nine are in New Haven County, seven are in Hartford County, six are in Fairfield County, two are in New London County and one is in Middlesex County, according to the report.

Norwalk's Yankee Doodle Bridge on I-95, which spans the Norwalk River, is the state's most heavily traveled structurally deficient bridge. It was built in 1957 and experiences 146,000 crossings daily.

To view the report by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, click here.

Photo: Yankee Doodle Bridge, Norwalk