Of the 9,338 bridges in the state, 1,031 (11%) are structurally deficient, meaning key elements are in poor condition. 891 bridges (10%) are functionally obsolete as they do not meet current design standards. It would cost an estimated $966.7 million to repair 1,660 bridges. The top 10 most traveled structurally deficient bridges see daily crossings ranging from 93,100 to 31,900 vehicles.

1. © 2015 The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of
ARTBA.
Highlights from FHWA’s 2014 National Bridge Inventory Data:
 Of the 9,338 bridges in the state, 1,031 bridges, or 11% are classified as structurally deficient.
This means one or more of the key bridge elements, such as the deck, superstructure or
substructure, is considered to be in “poor” or worse condition.1
 There are 891 bridges, or 10% of all state bridges, classified as functionally obsolete. This means
the bridge does not meet design standards that are in line with current practice.
 State and local contract awards for bridge construction totaled $513.87 million over the past
five years, 15 percent of highway and bridge contract awards, compared to a national average of
29 percent.
 Since 2004, 665 new bridges have been constructed in the state and 61 bridges have undergone
major reconstruction.
 The state estimates that it would cost approximately $966.7 million to fix a total of 1,660
bridges in the state.2
Bridge Inventory:
All Bridges Structurally deficient Bridges
Type of Bridge
Total
Number
Area (sq.
meters)
Daily
Crossings
Total
Number
Area (sq.
meters)
Daily
Crossings
Rural Bridges
Interstate 376 444,000 7,404,958 18 21,677 301,850
Other principal arterial 576 937,180 3,723,775 47 68,745 227,000
Minor arterial 688 577,277 2,512,755 95 85,172 300,950
Major collector 2,200 850,808 2,832,855 252 90,194 305,945
Minor collector 475 124,904 184,582 42 8,921 13,619
Local 2,686 586,191 803,687 362 60,496 84,191
Urban Bridges
Interstate 353 1,128,392 11,765,487 8 16,502 483,600
Other freeway 80 286,508 1,362,250 7 8,609 152,500
Principal arterial 359 834,893 6,529,110 30 63,462 510,000
Minor arterial 454 566,689 5,003,714 49 46,338 497,700
Collector 534 254,626 2,374,801 56 20,616 238,487
Rural 557 141,263 590,159 65 12,260 43,157
Total 9,338 6,732,731 45,088,133 1,031 502,992 3,158,999
1
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a bridge is classified as structurally deficient if the condition rating for the deck,
superstructure, substructure or culvert and retaining walls is rated 4 or below or if the bridge receives an appraisal rating of 2 or less for
structural condition or waterway adequacy. During inspections, the condition of a variety of bridge elements are rated on a scale of 0 (failed
condition) to 9 (excellent condition). A rating of 4 is considered “poor” condition and the individual element displays signs of advanced section
loss, deterioration, spalling or scour.
2
This data is provided by bridge owners as part of the FHWA data and is required for any bridge eligible for the Highway Bridge Replacement
and Rehabilitation Program. However, for some states this amount is very low and likely not an accurate reflection of current costs.
State Bridge Profile
South Carolina

2. © 2015 The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of
ARTBA.
Proposed bridge work:
Type of Work Number Cost (millions) Daily Crossings Area (sq. meters)
Bridge replacement 826 $628.3 1,723,899 323,752
Widening & rehabilitation 598 $255.8 4,074,277 467,591
Rehabilitation 231 $82.6 1,347,203 165,583
Deck rehabilitation/replacement 0 $0.0 0 0
Other work 5 $0.1 14,200 2,574
Top 10 Most Traveled Structurally Deficient Bridges in the State:
County
Year
Built
Daily
Crossings
Type of Bridge Location
Greenville 1960 93,100 Urban Interstate I-85 over Trib. Laurel Creek
Lexington 1958 79,900 Urban Interstate I-26 over Southern Railway (No. 1)
Richland 1958 78,200 Urban Interstate I-26 over CN and L Railroads
Lexington 1959 75,300 Urban Interstate I-26 over SC-302
Lexington 1959 74,800 Urban Interstate I-26 over US-1
Richland 1961 46,300 Urban Interstate I-126 over the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Richland 1977 42,400
Urban
freeway/expressway
SC-277 over I-77
Spartanburg 1953 33,700
Urban
freeway/expressway
SC-85 over the Southern Railroad and S-42-995
Spartanburg 1953 32,000
Urban
freeway/expressway
SC-85 over S-2
Greenville 1939 31,900
Urban other
principal arterial
US-29 over the Enoree River
Sources: All data is from the 2014 National Bridge Inventory, released by the Federal Highway Administration in January 2015.
Note that specific conditions on bridge may have changed as a result of recent work. Cost estimates of bridge work provided as
part of the data and have been adjusted to 2014$ for inflation and estimated project costs. Contract awards data is for state
and local government awards and comes from McGraw Hill. Note that additional bridge investment may be a part of other
contract awards if a smaller bridge project is included with a highway project, and that would not be accounted for in the total
in this profile.