What a poor rating means
The honest version: a repair flag, not a collapse warning
United States Bridge Conditions2025 National Bridge Inventory, FHWACompiled
Few phrases in infrastructure news alarm people like "structurally deficient." Here is what it actually means.
A bridge is rated poor - the current federal term for what used to be reported as structurally deficient - when its deck, superstructure, substructure, or culvert scores 4 or lower on the 0-9 inspection scale. That signals advanced deterioration in a major component: section loss in steel, spalling and exposed rebar in concrete, settlement in a foundation.
What it does not mean: that the bridge is about to fail, or that it is unsafe to cross. Bridge owners are required to act when a bridge cannot safely carry traffic: they post lower load limits, restrict lanes, or close it outright. An open poor-rated bridge is one its owner has judged safe for the traffic it carries, monitored on a regular inspection cycle while it waits for rehabilitation or replacement money.
Why the term changed: federal performance rules now report bridge condition as Good, Fair, or Poor, and FHWA moved away from the alarming-sounding older label. News stories still use both; they describe the same underlying ratings.
In the 2025 inventory, 41,677 bridges - about 6.7% of the total - carry a poor rating. Each one is listed on this site's county pages.
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory; condition definitions per FHWA's bridge condition classification.
Background: how bridge ratings work · what "poor" and "structurally deficient" actually mean · how often bridges are inspected.