Federal officials say Nevada and Texas tied for nation’s best maintained bridges

The U.S. Department of Transportation says Nevada and Texas had the nation’s best maintained bridges in 2019.

According to the study, just 1.3 percent of the more than 2,000 bridges in Nevada were considered structurally deficient. That designation doesn’t mean those bridges are dangerous. Officials say deficient means those bridges need rehabilitation or potential replacement and should be a priority for corrective measures. That compares with the roughly 7.5 percent of deficient bridges nationally.

Nevada’s bridges have been ranked among the nation’s best for a half dozen years.

The Nevada Department of Transportation is responsible for inspecting the majority of the state’s bridges including city and county maintained structures. Most recently, the bridge inspection team was called out to inspect bridges in the Carson City area a fter a substantial earthquake in March. Inspectors found no vicible damage related to the quake.

NDOT Director Kristina Swallow said the team’s focus is on keeping everyone safe.

More than 475 of the state-owned bridges in Nevada are more than 50 years old.