A report from the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group says its analysis shows the state has the highest percentage of deficient bridges in the country. Breaking down county-by county data, PennPIRG says it finds that over 26% of the state’s bridges are rated structurally deficient by government standards.

Program Associate Alana Miller says bridges should be a top priority as Pennsylvania looks for ways to fund transportation projects.

 Miller says some deficient bridges have weight or travel restrictions, leading to more traffic congestion. She says we’ve been putting off maintenance, and highway builders have been lobbying for wider roads or more highways when we need to focus on problems that need to be fixed right now.

Miller says fixing what we have will save money, improve safety and create jobs.  She says it will give us the most out of our transportation dollars.

Miller says Pennsylvania needs to focus on “fix it first”.  She says in 2008, the state needed to spend 7.8 billion dollars to bring all of its bridges into good repair.  She says the state only spent less than half a billion dollars.  She thinks that’s a good example of how Pennsylvania is prioritizing what it’s doing.