Over 400 Oklahoma bridges classified as structurally deficient and fracture critical

Ask Oklahoma drivers if they feel safe on state bridges and the answer is quick and nearly universal.

“No, not at all,” most say.

The latest report from the National Bridge Inventory proves that's probably the correct attitude.

The numbers say there are 414 bridges across the state that are structurally deficient and/or fracture critical. That means a single failure of a major part of the structure could cause a failure.

"I'm always nervous when I drive over a bridge" one driver told KRMG news.

Terry Angier works with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. She says there are a lot of reasons Oklahoma remains far behind most other states.

"A lot of people don't realize that we have more bridges than a lot of other states," she pointed out.

Angier continued “combine that with 40 years of underfunding the transportation system in Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma transportation officials claim the overall number of bad bridges is down to 348 due to more funding but they also admit there is much more to do.

Wonder of one of those bridges is on your daily commute?

There's an easy way to find out. Just click here and then narrow the search to your neighborhood to find out more.