Where the bad bridges are, state by state

There was a slight improvement in the share of bridges in the U.S. that were classified as either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, according to newly released records from the National Bridge Inventory analyzed by msnbc.com.

The percentage of bridges that were deficient or obsolete was 25.0 percent in the newest records analyzed by msnbc.com, which include inspections through 2006. In the previous year, the percentage was 25.4.

These bridges are not necessarily unsafe, but they do have known problems.

Structurally deficient bridges need significant maintenance attention, rehabilitation or replacement. These bridges are restricted to light vehicles, require immediate rehabilitation to remain open, or are closed. A bridge is always rated as structurally deficient if it gets a rating of "poor" or worse on any of its three main components: deck, superstructure, and substructure.

Functionally obsolete bridges do not meet current criteria for deck geometry (such as lane width), load carrying capacity, clearance, or approach roadway alignment. Although functionally obsolete bridges are counted separately from structurally deficient bridges, most structurally deficient bridges are, by definition, also functionally obsolete.

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