N.J. has thousands of bridges — around 400 of them are structurally deficient, but officials say they are not unsafe

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There are 6,827 bridges in New Jersey, and the state has identified that 2,563 of them need repairs.

According to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, more than 7 million vehicles cross the state’s bridges on a given day and 410, or 6% of them, are structurally deficient.

Are these bridges safe?

Alison Black, the association’s senior vice president and chief economist, said the term structurally deficient does not mean a bridge is unsafe.

“What it means is that one of the key elements of the bridge, either the deck, the super structure, the above, or the substructure of the bridge is rated in poor or worse condition,” she said.

Steve Schapiro, press manager for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, also stressed that these bridges are safe.

“We’ve been investing billions of dollars over the years to maintain and improve these bridges, and we’re continuing to do so,” he said.

Why do so many N.J. bridges need work?

Schapiro said the average age of the bridges in the Garden State is 57.

“Older bridges do require more frequent maintenance,” he said. “New Jersey does have a very robust bridge safety program, where all bridges that are at least 20 feet in length are inspected every two years.”

He said that weather also impacts bridge maintenance.

“We have winters that can be cold, very severe weather, snow, ice, fluctuating temperatures can cause wear and tear on bridges,” he said.

Schapiro pointed out that as a corridor state, New Jersey gets a high concentration of truck traffic which puts an extra strain on the infrastructure, and as a coastal state, Jersey is exposed to elevated levels of saltwater in some areas, which also degrades bridge construction material.

The list of the top most-traveled structurally deficient bridges in New Jersey includes a bridge in Burlington County that was built in 1925, and one in Camden County that was constructed in 1930.

Black said that in situations where the condition of a bridge poses a danger to the traveling public, officials either adjust the allowable weight limits for going over the bridge or close it down until repairs are completed.

A lot of work is needed

Black said there were 2,433 bridges in New Jersey that were identified as needing repair work in 2020. That total has now climbed to 2,563.

“It can take some time to repair these structures, certainly a lot of them can be significant investments, so while we are seeing improvement, there’s still a number of structures that need to be repaired,” she said.

She added that progress is being made to upgrade the structural integrity of structurally deficient bridges in the Garden State.

“Continual investment will really help over time improve the infrastructure, the condition of the bridges,” she said.

Every year, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association reviews data submitted by the states to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to its New Jersey report, the deck area of structurally deficient bridges accounts for 6.1% of total deck area on all structures.

In 2026, the New Jersey Department of Transportation is set to receive $75 million from the Federal Highway Administration for numerous transportation projects. Some of that money will be funneled to repair the bridges.