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Records show 8,000 bridges are ‘structurally deficient’

Fast-track fixes for Tappan Zee highlight danger

By Carol Wolf

 |  Bloomberg News  

  February 06, 2012

The United States has 18,000 so-called fracture-critical bridges, of which about 8,000 are classified “structurally deficient,’’ according to Federal Highway Administration records. The fracture-critical ranking means that the bridges don’t give any warning at the point of collapse. Such bridges require inspections that may cost cash-strapped state and local governments 5 to 15 times as much as routine checks.

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