One in 12 bridges in Illinois is "structurally deficient," which is an increase from two years ago, according to a national report from Transportation for America released Wednesday.
Based
on an analysis of the U.S. Department on Transportation's National
Bridge Inventory data, the report found that nearly 9 percent of Illinois'
bridges are structurally deficient, meaning they require significant
repair, maintenance or replacement.
On a daily basis, there are
more than 8 million trips taken across Illinois' deficient bridges,
according to the report, "The Fix We’re In For 2013."
In general,
bridges are designed to last 50 years before major fixes are needed. The
average age of Illinois' bridges is 40. Nationally, the average age is 43.
In
10 years, 1 in 4 bridges in the country will be older than 65, which is
the average age of structurally deficient bridges, according to the
report.
"As more bridges reach the end of their life span, we face a growing liability in Illinois and nationally," said Brian Imus, Illinois PIRG's
state director. "Delays in maintenance increase safety risks and
ultimately costs taxpayers. The safest approach we can take to Illinois’
infrastructure is to protect the investments we’ve made with needed
upgrades."
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Medicare
and Social Security would see a significant boost in payroll tax
contributions if America’s 11 million undocumented immigrants were
provided legal status and an earned pathway to citizenship, say health and
economic policy experts.
A new state poll released by Public Policy Polling Thursday shows that 78
percent of likely Illinois voters strongly or somewhat support the bipartisan, immigration reform legislation currently being debated in the U.S. Senate.