NBC 7 News (KWWL-TV/Waterloo, Iowa): Buchanan County looking for ways to address aging bridges

BUCHANAN COUNTY, Iowa – Iowa ranks as having the worst bridges in the country by the Federal Highway Administration. County engineers across the state are trying to find a solution to fix an aging network of roads.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reports 4,670 of the state’s 24,090 bridges are in “poor” condition and nearly half rank as just “fair.”

Brian Keierleber, Buchanan County Engineer, said as trucks hauling cargo get heavier and heavier, the situation will only continue to get worse.

“Increasing the weight of the trucks makes all of these bridges deteriorate faster,” he said.

Keierleber manages nearly all of the county’s 316 bridges. He said some of them are a century old, if not older.

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