[20200519]IN11395_公路桥梁状况持续改善.pdf

CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Condition of Highway Bridges Continues to Improve William J. Mallett Specialist in Transportation Policy May 19, 2020 A construction-industry group recently estimated that more than one-third of all U.S. highway bridges need major repairs or replacement, construction work that could cost federal, state, and local governments about $164 billion. When compared to total bridge capital spending of about $17 billion per year, of which roughly $7 billion is federal support, some might consider this bridge investment “backlog” to be a significant budgetary challenge. Others say the situation is probably not as dire as this analysis suggests. The data used in that estimate, published every year by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), continue to show that the number and share of bridges in poor condition have dropped significantly over the past 20 years. Furthermore, repairing every deficient bridge in just a few years is unrealistic, and not every bridge repair is likely to be justified when considering both the economic benefits and costs. FHWAs own analysis of bridge data suggests a relatively modest inc