Road & Bridge Conditions
A total of 1,620 municipal-owned bridges exist; of these: 66 are bypassed/historic, 47 are closed, 349 are Red Listed, 296 are near Red Listed. 758 municipal owned bridges need attention. Bridge deficiencies have an impact on mobility and safety. Restrictions on vehicle weight may cause many vehicles - especially emergency vehicles, commercial trucks, school buses and farm equipment - to use alternative routes to avoid these bridges. Narrow bridge lanes, inadequate clearances and poorly aligned bridge approaches reduce traffic safety. Redirected trips lengthen travel time, waste fuel and reduce efficiency of the local economy.
The classification of a bridge as "structurally deficient" does not mean the structure is unsafe. New Hampshire’s bridge safety inspection program ensures that each bridge is safe for vehicles weighing less than the posted weight limit. If the inspection determines a bridge to be unsafe for vehicles, the bridge is closed or posted for lower weight vehicles until repaired or replaced.
Bridges
- Thirty-one percent of New Hampshire’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Deficient and obsolete bridges impact commercial and personal mobility as well as safety. This report contains a list of bridges in the state with the lowest sufficiency rating.
- Sixteen percent of New Hampshire’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient, showing significant deterioration to decks and other major components. A bridge is structurally deficient if there is significant deterioration of the bridge deck, supports or other major components. Bridges that are structurally deficient are often restricted to carrying lower weight vehicles or are closed if they are found to be unsafe.
- Sixteen percent of New Hampshire’s bridges are functionally obsolete. Functionally obsolete bridges are generally older bridges that are not designed to modern standards and/or do not have adequate lane widths, shoulder widths, or vertical clearances to serve current traffic demand. These bridges are not necessarily structurally deficient, nor are they necessarily restricted from carrying legal loads.
NH's Red Listed Bridges
- Municipal & Other Red List Bridges 2009
- State Redlist Bridges 2009
- Municipal Redlist Bridges 2008
- State Redlist Summary 2008
50 States Bridge Inventory by Better Roads
The Federal Highway Administration, in consultation with the states, has assigned a sufficiency rating SR to each bridge (20 feet or more) inventoried. Formula SR rating factors are as outlined in the current Recording and Coding Guide for Structures Inventory and Appraisal SI&A of the Nations Bridges.
Below are the Bridge ratings for all 50 states by year. This data has been analyzed in order to inform you of where New Hampshire stands compared to the rest of the nation. If you would like to review the national bridge inventory, it is listed below by year and you may also visit the Better Roads Magazine website at www.betterroads.com.
- 2010 Bridge Inventory (For full article please visit http://www.betterroads.com/2010/?cat=13180)
- 2009 Bridge Inventory
- 2008 Bridge Inventory
- 2007 Bridge Inventory
- 2006 Bridge Inventory
- 2005 Bridge Inventory
- 2004 Bridge Inventory
Roads
One third of major roads in New Hampshire are in poor or mediocre condition. This report identifies the sections of New Hampshire roads and highways that are most in need of repair or replacement.
- In 2008, 12 percent of major roads were rated in poor condition and an additional 21 percent were in mediocre condition.
- Driving on roads in need of repair costs New Hampshire’s motorists $267 million annually – $259 per driver –in extra vehicle operating costs, including accelerated vehicle depreciation, additional repair costs and increased fuel consumption and tire wear.
- Roads rated poor show signs of deterioration, including rutting, cracks and potholes. In some cases, poor roads can be resurfaced, but often are too deteriorated and should be reconstructed. Roads rated in mediocre condition may show signs of significant wear and may also have some visible pavement distress. Most pavements in mediocre condition can be repaired by resurfacing, but some may need more extensive reconstruction to return them to good condition.
- A desirable goal for state and local organizations that are responsible for road maintenance is to keep 75 percent of major roads in good condition. In New Hampshire, 53 percent of the state’s major roads were in good condition in 2008.
NH's Road Conditions
