Find the Pennsylvania bridges classified in ‘poor’ condition by the federal government

This story and visualization are part of our new “Data In Your Life” series, in which we mine public databases to tell quick stories about the world around us.

In the early hours of March 26, a 985-foot container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, bringing a portion of the 1.6-mile-long bridge down in less than 40 seconds.

Although the Key Bridge might have fallen no matter its condition, the high-profile accident focused attention on bridge safety across the nation. The Federal Highway Administration maintains a public database of bridge ratings in every state , including Pennsylvania. The ratings consider multiple parts of a bridge’s structure, including the deck, superstructure, substructure and culvert.

The federal government assigns three designations to rate the condition of bridges: Good, fair and poor. In 2023, the Key Bridge was in the “fair” group, along with about 49% of the country’s bridges. Another 44% are rated “good” and almost 7% are considered “poor.”

The ratings “good,” “fair” and “poor” are given based on assessments that consider many factors , according to information provided by the Federal Highway Administration. A bridge receiving a “poor” rating does not necessarily indicate it is unsafe to cross.

The state of Pennsylvania’s bridges

Pennsylvania is No. 3 in the nation for its number of bridges , including an excess of 25,400 structures 8 feet long or larger, according to the state Department of Transportation, PennDOT.

According to the federal data, 53.1% of the state’s thousands of bridges carry the “fair” rating.

Meanwhile, about 13% of the commonwealth’s bridges were rated as in “poor” condition as of 2023. The data does not include the commonly used names of the bridges.

PennDOT says Pennsylvania’s bridges are, on average, 50 years old. The state agency has varying responsibilities for the structures, and the agency offers its own interactive map on bridge conditions.

The Key Bridge in Baltimore relied on piers, which were essential to its structural integrity.

Without sufficient protective barriers surrounding the piers, other bridge components couldn’t compensate for the missing support when the large container ship, called the Dali, crashed into one of the piers, The New York Times reported in March . Even with stronger protective barriers, it’s possible the bridge still wouldn’t have been able to withstand a hit from such a large ship.

Central service journalism editor Jackie Starkey contributed to this report.