Back in 2011, South Dakota had the fifth-worst rate of bridge deficiency in the United States, with 20.3% of our bridges deemed structurally deficient. The $85 million in taxes we raised in 2015 must have done some good: WNAX reports that we’re down to 16.7% of our bridges being structurally deficient (of course, no separate count is given for how many of those structurally deficient bridges from 2011 have since fallen down and thus no longer count against us).
Alas, other states have made more progress on shoring up their bridges, so we’ve sunk from fifth-worst to fourth-worst, behind only Iowa, West Virginia, and Rhode Island. So says the latest report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (which, of course, has an interest in inducing us to spend more money on concrete and steel).
Nationwide, the percentage of structurally deficient bridges is 7.6%:
ARTBA summarizes South Dakota’s bridge needs thus:
- Of the 5,824 bridges in the state, 973, or 16.7 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. This means one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition.
- This is down from 1,068 bridges classified as structurally deficient in 2014.
- 4 of the structurally deficient bridges are on the Interstate Highway System.
- 1,120 bridges are posted for load, which may restrict the size and weight of vehicles crossing the structure.
- The state has identified needed repairs on 2,468 bridges at an estimated cost of $534.8 million.
- This compares to 2,543 bridges that needed work in 2014 [ARTBA, “National Bridge Inventory: South Dakota,” retrieved 2019.04.09].
5.0% of the bridges in Minnesota are structurally deficient. They have 668 structurally deficient bridges—bigger state, more cars and people, and they actually have fewer bridges in the most dire need of repair than South Dakota does.
I suspect Minnesotans will enjoy noting that SD stands for Structurally Deficient.
As a special bonus to brighten my day, the most traveled structurally deficient bridge in South Dakota is right here in Aberdeen, on Highway 12 over the swollen Moccasin Creek, just west of McDonald’s:
| Top Most Traveled Structurally Deficient Bridges in South Dakota | ||||
| County | Year Built | Daily Crossings | Type of Bridge | Location |
| Brown | 1954 | 19377 | Urban other principal arterial | US012 over Moccasin Ck |
| Minnehaha | 1979 | 18174 | Urban collector | 49th Street over Big Sioux River |
| Pennington | 1959 | 10516 | Urban Interstate | I090 E over Boxelder Ck |
| Minnehaha | 1912 | 10163 | Urban collector | 8th Street over Big Sioux River |
| Minnehaha | 1948 | 9815 | Urban minor arterial | 60th Street North over Silver Creek |
| Minnehaha | 1960 | 6544 | Rural Interstate | I090 W over Split Rock Ck |
| Minnehaha | 1964 | 6485 | Rural Interstate | I090 W over Sd019 |
| Lawrence | 1953 | 6425 | Rural arterial | US014A over Deadwood Ck |
| Brown | 1969 | 5087 | Urban minor arterial | 3rd Avenue SE over Moccasin Creek |
| Codington | 1941 | 4837 | Urban minor arterial | 3rd Avenue NW over Big Sioux River |
| Pennington | 1974 | 4700 | Urban collector | Chapel Lane over Rapid Ck |
| Minnehaha | 1967 | 3895 | Rural minor arterial | Sd115 over Ck |
| Minnehaha | 1978 | 3377 | Rural major collector | 478th Ave, Hwy 121 over Big Sioux River |
| Minnehaha | 1961 | 3300 | Urban collector | E 60th St N over I229 |
| Edmunds | 1974 | 2906 | Rural arterial | US012 over Ck |
| Clay | 1949 | 2890 | Rural minor arterial | Sd046 over Vermillion Rv |
| Deuel | 1971 | 2559 | Rural arterial | US212 over Cain Ck |
| Brown | 1974 | 2069 | Urban collector | 10th Avenue SE over Moccasin Creek |
| Minnehaha | 1966 | 1961 | Rural major collector | 258th St, Hwy 130 over Big Sioux River |
| Mellette | 1957 | 1690 | Rural arterial | US083 over Little White Rv |
| Pennington | 1947 | 1685 | Rural arterial | US385 over Horse Ck |
| Kingsbury | 1952 | 1631 | Rural minor arterial | Sd025 over Ck |
| Beadle | 1951 | 1629 | Rural minor arterial | Sd037 over James Rv |
| Brown | 1930 | 1400 | Rural major collector | 134th Street over Creek |
| Brookings | 1925 | 1305 | Rural major collector | 471St Avenue over Ck |
Well, at least if we do I-35 into Moccasin Creek, it’s not a long drop. We can all wade out.
Related: I hit Publish, open my morning paper, and learn that the ninth-most-traveled bridge on that list, over Moccasin Creek at 3rd Avenue Southeast here in Aberdeen, finally starts getting its upgrade today. 3rd Avenue, a major alternative artery for people trying to avoid mayhem on 6th Avenue, will be closed from Primrose to 550 feet east of Wilson all summer. The state says the bridge will be done by October, with overall completion scheduled for November 16. Doing the work is Prahm Construction, Inc., from Slayton, Minnesota… where they apparently get more practice fixing structurally deficient bridges.
I don’t have time to read this. There is a crisis, national emergency, that is occurring on the border. That took two years for the GOP to “declare”. That, even while this national emergency is occurring, American patriots are brave enough to go on about their daily lives.
To go out and drive on our crumbling infrastructure……
(apologies for the sarcasm. I couldn’t resist)
Cory, thanks for all of the work on this. Wow. This is disturbing. “We” have been promised that there would be a lot of work done to improve infrastructure since January of 2017. Infrastructure week (eye roll) keeps getting delayed over and over again. It’s easier to pick at the minds of ignorant folks who are eager to believe that brown people are invading us and that the democrats want to ban cows and airplanes.
The Obama administration proposed infrastructure money, and on at least five occasions, the GOP blocked those attempts.
Elections matter. These are winning issues for democrats to run on. It’s not hyperbole. It’s our safety that is in danger and can be backed up with facts (I know, those silly things called facts)
It looks like progress is slowly being made. At this rate we’ll catch up to Minnesota in 50 – 100 years.
Northern Mississippi should throw itself to the mercy of Minnesota and beg to be adopted and hope for better government and better everything else.
Maybe you didn’t catch the part about Iowa having really bad bridges, Mike?
Au contraire, Ror. iowa has had bad bridges for generations and even passed a 10 cent per gallon state tax on gas to help alleviate the problem. My county is busy replacing bridges damaged by historic floods.
US Hiway 20 is four lanes clear across iowa with the completion of the last stretch from Correctionville to Soo City. There are lots of new bridges built along the way.
Of course, Cory, MN always ranks better than SD in most everything.
Well, except pheasants, but the pheasants will disappear if they don’t listen to the true experts and not Noem’s administration.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/08/10-facts-iowa-department-transportation-3-billion-5-year-highway-plan/591761002/
Read ’em and weep, Ror. 3 billion in the next five years with one caveat. The federal program passed and signed by Obama expires next year so if wingnuts refuse to renew it because of Obama’s signature, the state will need to restructure plan or find money elsewhere.
How is South Dakota doing on their roads and bridges? I know SD doesn’t have the tax base iowa has, but immigration into your state would certainly help.
The absolute worst potholes I have ever ever encountered was in Council Bluffs Iowa.Thought I was going to get stuck in one, seriously. I had never seen anything like it, and am all for addition transportation funding after going through that town.
I know Walz, he put 20 cents out there to get to 5 cents with the Republicans.
All though I would support the 20 cent gas tax for a limited time. I’m not afraid of taxes.
Speaking of Minnesota, the firm brought in to rebuild collapsed I-35 bridge in Twin Cities was then same one that engineered pedestrian cross walk bridge at Florida International Uni that collapsed shortly after being opened.
I know we are talking about bridges, not roads. Sorry.
I have a Republican-style idea to improve South Dakota’s standing in the bridge rankings. Stop inspecting bridges.
Without roads, what need of bridges, Jenny?
Absolutely, Ror. Is it legal to sue the state when you are killed when a bridge the state knows is deficient comes tumbling down? Are bridges like iowa’s deer? They belong to the state and it costs a pretty penny to replace one taken illegally, but let one be the cause of a traffic fatality and the state has never heard of deer.
From a recent editorial in the RCJ, it sounds like Pennington County is the Mississippi of SD.
We should hold “data” provided by a road builder lobby at arms length – and then some. The data should come from an independent 3d party or government or both.
Few years back we bid to dismantle a bridge
Worst job ever. The structure was so dangerous, it collapsed upon the first section
Everyone was breathless as up to a couple weeks before public was still using it.
There are big costs to those rotten bridges, even when they don’t collapse. An old bridge across the Belle Fourche River near Vale, SD was closed around 2005. People who were driving 4-5 miles to get to church suddenly were up to 12+. Not good economically or environmentally.
I drove across that bridge once or twice, held my breath each time. It needed to be replaced, not closed.
If you have ever driven across our northern border into Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Debbo, you will immediately notice that rural Canada never had a grid system of roads spaced 1 mile apart. Not needed in Canada and not needed in sparsely populated rural SD today. We can’t afford to maintain and replace bridges on lightly traveled rural backroads. Though I don’t know the specific bridge you described, I suspect that the money to replace that bridge was better spent elsewhere. And a 12 mile Sunday drive won’t stop the dedicated churchgoers.
Point taken, Ror.
Upon collapse, “our thoughts and prayers”