In 2004, Oklahoma had a total of nearly 6,800 bridges and 1,168 of them were considered to be structurally deficient.
Fast forward to 2018 and the number of structurally deficient bridges was 132, according to Oklahoma Transportation Department Director Jim Gatz.
It’s what he informed the State Transportation Commission at its meeting on Monday. Ever since 2004, the state has made it a goal to significantly reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges.
Gatz told commissioners that because a bridge is structurally deficient doesn’t make it unsafe.
But he said the improvement in numbers has led to Oklahoma ranked 13th nationwide for the fewest number of structurally deficient bridges.
Gatz had hoped to make it into the top ten.
“We didn’t quite achieve that this year but we’re going to continue to be focused on it with the goal of have 1% structurally deficient bridges that we will sustain for the future.”