A little more than a year ago, tragedy struck Baltimore when a cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Six people were killed.
It put a spotlight on the stability and safety of bridges in the United States.
On the Gulf Coast, hurricanes have caused the worst of the damage to bridges. Hurricane Ian carved a path right through parts of the Sanibel Causeway.
Storm damage aside, Florida is a state with strong bridges. The latest data from the National Bridge Inventory shows just 2.8% of bridges in the Sunshine State are in poor condition. That’s the sixth-best rate in the country.
Three main parts of a bridge are rated: the deck, the superstructure and the substructure. A bridge’s overall rating is taken from the worst of those.
7 to 9 is a good rating.
5 to 6 is fair.
And 0 to 4 is poor.
In our six-county area, the latest data from the National Bridge Inventory shows nearly 70% of bridges are in good condition.
Nearly 30% are in fair condition.
And just 1.4% are in poor condition.
That’s exactly 12 bridges in poor condition in our area.
Gulf Coast News Investigator Evan Dean traveled to the 12 bridges and found out what’s being done – or already has been – to fix them.
LEE COUNTY
Albert Vanberkum had no idea the bridge near his home in Cape Coral is one of 12 on the Gulf Coast rated in poor condition.
It's on Del Prado Boulevard over the Lido Canal, south of Veterans Memorial Parkway, and is the busiest of the 12.
“I drive over it just about every day,” Vanberkum told Gulf Coast News. “I haven't seen anything wrong with the bridge.”
A spokesperson for Lee County, which manages the bridge, told Gulf Coast News that FDOT ratings show it is structurally sound, though routine repairs are scheduled for later this year.
“Lee County has a robust bridge maintenance program,” the spokesperson wrote in part in an email to Gulf Coast News. “In the odd year where FDOT is not performing an inspection on a bridge structure, the county performs a bridge inspection. This allows Lee DOT to identify any wear and tear that may need to be addressed rather than waiting for an inspection every other year.”
Another bridge in Cape Coral on Kismet Parkway over the Lochness Canal is also rated in poor condition.
A spokesperson for Cape Coral, which manages that particular bridge, said it remains structurally sound.
“Cape Coral’s Bridge Rehabilitation Program prioritizes such bridges for repair or replacement before they become structurally deficient,” the spokesperson wrote in part. “Recently, the city has completed a master plan for the bridge system and is programming repairs to the structures to ensure all of the bridges in Cape Coral remain structurally safe.”
The biggest of the worst-rated bridges on the Gulf Coast is over Big Carlos Pass, though construction of a full replacement is already underway there.
COLLIER COUNTY
One of the 12 bridges in poor condition already has been replaced. There’s a brand new bridge on County Road 846 east of Immokalee.
In Golden Gate Estates, one of the bridges over Tropicana Boulevard has a poor rating.
"County Bridge engineers inspected the bridge and found it to be in satisfactory condition with no immediate actionable repairs,” a spokesperson for Collier County, which manages the bridge, wrote in an email. “The county programmed repairs in future Fiscal Year 2026 budget. We are working and coordinating with state of Florida staff to finalize the report."
DESOTO COUNTY
In some places, it’s obvious work still needs to be done. A bridge on County Road 661 in DeSoto County was damaged by Ian. Emergency repairs were made – and it is open – but an engineer for the county said they plan to do permanent repairs later this year.
Just nearby, another bridge is in worse shape. The bridge in the Oak Hill Cemetery is unpassable and has been closed for years.
The county engineer said there are plans to finally replace it in 2027.
MARCO ISLAND
Bob Kibbler lives on Marco Island. Unlike in DeSoto County, the bridges in poor condition don’t exactly look it.
That includes the one near his home.
“If you look at it, you won't see any issue,” Kibbler told Gulf Coast News. “If you go down there and examine it, there's no indication that it's bad.”
“It takes a trained eye, and most of the problems you can't see from up top,” Justin Martin, the Marco Island Public Works Director, told Gulf Coast News.
Of the 12 bridges with a poor rating on the Gulf Coast, five of them are on Marco Island.
“Given the age of the bridges that we have – most of them were built in the very early 70s, 1972, 73 – given our saltwater environment, that we're a coastal barrier island, it doesn't surprise me,” Martin said. “These bridges are now 50 years old, or a little bit over that.”
Martin said the poor rating doesn’t necessarily mean the bridges are unsafe. In fact, the five on Marco Island are still open, though he said FDOT may limit the load that can cross and that FDOT inspects bridges more often when their condition worsens.
“They monitor it more closely to see if any prompt action is needed,” Martin said.
Martin said their lowest-rated bridge is on Caxambas Court. As of now, it’s slated for a full replacement in 2027.
“We believe that the remaining four on that list can be rehabilitated rather than replaced,” Martin said of the other poorly-rated bridges.
Repairing a bridge rather than replacing it can save millions of dollars. The city recently rehabbed a different bridge for less than $250,000.
Replacing it altogether would’ve cost $9 million.
However, they decide to fix them, the goal remains the same.
“Number one priority is to keep things safe for the residents,” Martin said. "These bridges are stout, concrete, reinforced concrete bridges that, even though they've been there for 50 years, they're still extremely safe.”
NEW DATA TO BE RELEASED SOON
Each of the past 20 years, Florida has had less than 4% of its bridges in poor condition. But a closer look at the data shows bridges are still wearing down.
Bridges in good condition have gone down by 10% over the past 20 years, while bridges in fair condition have gone up by 10%.
The National Bridge Inventory will release a new dataset in June, which will include the latest inspection reports. Bridges that were just replaced won’t be rated poorly anymore, but others could slip from fair to poor condition.