Seventeen percent of Missouri’s bridges are structurally deficient

Today’s moment of dread and disconcertion comes courtesy of a group called Transportation for America, which informs us that 17 percent of the bridges in Missouri are “structurally deficient,” including many in Kansas City. The red ones on the map above are the offending bridges. The group says a deficient bridge is one “requiring significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement.” You can play around with this interactive map showing information about each bridge and see how many times you drive over a battered bridged. I do it twice a day!