Nearly 10% of the nation’s bridges are structurally deficient, and Iowa leads the nation with 5,025 of them. Washington County Engineer Jacob Thorius tells KCII News that structurally deficient are not by definition unsafe–they just need work and are no longer able to carry the load they were designed for.  He says Washington County has 173 bridges, and 23 of them are considered structurally deficient.

One of those bridges will be replaced this summer. Thorius says it’s on G38, or old Highway 92, west of the Dublin store. The county tries to replace one or two structurally deficient bridges every year, depending the size of the bridge and on funding.