BAD BRIDGES: They Support Hundreds of Thousands of "Daily" Crossings Per Day

CHELMSFORD - They bump and grind and even squeal sometimes. It's obvious by the sounds they make, many bridges in Essex and Middlesex counties, and across the state, are "structurally deficient'' and even more bridges are "functionally obsolete.

Of the 5,171 bridges in the state, 483 or 9 percent are "structurally deficient," meaning at least one of the bridge's key elements is in "poor" or worse condition. Massachusetts ranks 20th in percentage of structurally deficient bridges and ranks 31st in overall number, according to a recent report by the National Bridge Inventory Database..

About 2,214 bridges or 43 percent are "functionally obsolete," meaning they do not meet current design standards.

The state has identified needed repairs on 4,699 bridges, which will cost an estimated $19 billion, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration.

The National Bridge Inventory Database reports federal investment in the state has supported $9.8 billion for capital improvements on 732 bridges between 2005 and 2014.

In the last decade, 274 new bridges have been constructed in the state, while 190 have had major reconstruction.

On the list of the 25 most traveled "structurally deficient'' bridges, Middlesex county has the most at eight bridges, most built in the 1950s and 1960s on Route 128 and the Middlesex Turnpike. A MBTA/B&M railroad bridge over I-95 and Route 128 was built in 1950 and has 172,000 "daily crossings.''

But Essex County comes in a close second with seven structurally deficent bridges most over I-93 and I-495 and built between 1957 and 1964. The oldest bridge built in 1957 on I-93 over the Shawsheen River has nearly 140,000 daily crossings.

Here's a list of the 25 most traveled structurally deficient bridges in Massachusetts:

Middlesex County

* I 95 /Rt 128 over RR MBTA/BMRR - Built in 1950, has 172,000 daily crossings

* I 95 NB/Rt 128 NB over Rt 3 A/Cambridge St - Built in 1950, has 159,900 daily crossings

* Hwy Grove St over I 95 /Rt 128 - Built in 1962, has 154,500 daily crossings

* I 90 over RR CSX/Mbta - Built in 1964, has 121,547 daily crossings

* Rt 16 Rev Bch Pkwy over Water Malden River - Built in 1954, has 116,500 daily crossings

* I 95 NB/Rt 128 NB over Hwy Middlesex Tpk - Built in 1962, has 91,300 daily crossings

* I 95 SB/Rt 128 SB over Hwy Middlesex Tpk - Built in 1962, has 91,000 daily

* I 95 SB/Rt 128 SB over Rt 3 A/Cambridge St - Built in 1950, has 86,169 daily crossings

Essex County:

* I 93 NB over Water Shawsheen River - Built in 1957, has 138,689 daily crossings

* I 93 SB over Water Shawsheen River - Built in 1958, has 138,689 daily crossings

*I 495 Upper Level over I 495 Lower Level - Built in 1962, has 121,500 daily crossings

*I 495 NB over Rt 213 - Built in 1964, has 102,000 daily crossings

* I 495 SB over Rt 213 - Built in 1964, has 102,000 daily crossings

* US 1 Newbrprt Tpk over I 95 /Rt 128 - Built in 1963, has 100,000 daily crossings

* I 495 NB over Rt 110 /Rt 113/Merrimack - Built in 1963, has 96,200 daily crossings :

Norfolk County

* I 93 NB/US 1 SB over 24 NB - Built in 1958, has 201,000 daily crossings

* Rt 3 NB over Hwy Ramp C (Q Adams) - Built in 1978, has 138,500 daily crossings

* Rt 3 SB over Hwy Ramp C (Q Adams) - Built in 1978, has 138, 200 daily crossings

* I 95 NB over I 95 /US 1/Rt 128 - Built in 1966, has 110,000 daily crossings

Plymouth County

* Rt 24 over Hwy W Chestnut St - Built in 1954, has 96,400 daily crossings

* Rt 3 SB Plgm Hwy over Rt 123 Webster St - Built in 1960, has 82,000 daily crossings

Suffolk County

* I 90 WB over US 20 N Beacon St - Built in 1964, has 104,393 daily crossings

Photo submitted by David Maroney