Bridges

Bridges are an integral part of the highway system. They allow drivers to cross over valleys, streams and rivers, railroad tracks, other highways, or local roads and streets. A bridge is a structure that spans 20 feet or more in length above the feature it crosses.

There is a wide variety of bridge designs, from plain concrete boxes under roads that cross small streams to lengthy structures that are made with piers, steel girders, concrete decks, and guard rails. The type of bridge design used depends on a number of factors, including the length needed, the volume of traffic, the height that is necessary beneath the bridge, and the amount of funding available to build it.

• 4,987: the approximate number of bridges on the state highway system as of July 2007 (Kansas, U.S., and Interstate routes, excluding the Kansas Turnpike)
• 4389: the number of bridges on the state highway system that aren’t functionally obsolete or structurally deficient
• 105: the number of bridges on the state highway system that were classified as structurally deficient (2.08%) in July 2007
• 456: the number of bridges on the state highway system that were classified as functionally obsolete (8.75%) in July 2007
• 14: the percentage of bridges on the state highway system that were classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete in 2000, when the Comprehensive Transportation Program was started
• 1,100: the number of bridges repaired or replaced on the state highway system since 1990.
• 25,863: the approximate number of bridges in the state (includes state, county, city, and Kansas Turnpike bridges
• 4th and 15th: where Kansas ranks nationwide in the total number of bridges and in the amount of bridge square footage

• 600,000: the approximate number of bridges nationwide
• 25: the percentage of bridges nationwide that are classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete