- Of Delaware's 864 bridges, 56 (6%) are structurally deficient and 121 (14%) are functionally obsolete. - Between 2003-2012, $340.9 million in federal funding supported construction of 298 bridges in Delaware. - It is estimated that $651.8 million would be needed to repair 340 bridges in the state.

1. © 2014 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 2013 National Bridge Inventory Data:
 Of the 864 bridges in the state, 56 bridges, or 6% 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 121 bridges, or 14% of all state bridges, classified as functionally obsolete. This means
the bridge does not meet design standards that are in line with current practice.
 Federal-aid investment in Delaware has supported $340.9 million in bridge construction
spending on 298 bridges between 2003 and 2012, according to FHWA data.2
 Since 2004, 55 new bridges have been constructed in the state and 26 bridges have undergone
major reconstruction.
 The state estimates that it would cost approximately $651.8 million to fix a total of 340 bridges
in the state.3
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 0 0 0 0 0 0
Other principal arterial 81 230,314 1,656,787 2 21,258 35,466
Minor arterial 21 11,490 187,809 2 159 12,503
Major collector 86 38,342 341,457 6 333 23,482
Minor collector 27 4,215 57,169 2 0 3,235
Local 196 22,602 128,029 20 124 12,306
Urban Bridges
Interstate 89 325,468 3,331,914 4 3,762 160,326
Other freeway 28 32,405 492,409 0 0 0
Principal arterial 118 169,213 2,837,874 7 29,655 184,529
Minor arterial 71 70,493 845,713 2 3,464 31,073
Collector 81 36,115 564,295 5 156 16,427
Local 66 21,962 131,799 6 1,076 14,243
Not classified 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 864 962,619 10,575,255 56 59,987 493,590
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
ARTBA analysis of FHWA data, includes all bridge construction related spending on projects approved by FHWA between 2003 and 2012.
3
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
Delaware

2. © 2014 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 157 $288.8 2,369,830 119,518
Widening & rehabilitation 20 $12.2 206,333 17,339
Rehabilitation 138 $335.0 1,953,881 314,410
Deck rehabilitation/replacement 0 $0.0 0 0
Other work 25 $15.8 477,216 40,635
Top 10 Most Traveled Structurally Deficient Bridges in the State
County Year
Built
Daily
Crossings
Type of Bridge Location
(route/water under the bridge, traffic on the bridge and location)
New Castle 1978 68,372 Urban other
principal arterial
CHRISTINA R. AMTRAK SR 4, SR 141, NEWPORT
New Castle 1960 47,350 Urban Interstate N/S RR -ABANDONED, I 295 SB, WEST OF FARNHURST
New Castle 1960 47,350 Urban Interstate ABANDONED PRISON RD, I 295 SB, FARNHURST
New Castle 1958 46,057 Urban Interstate AREA OF OLD RAMP 6117, I 295 NB, FARNHURST
New Castle 1978 31,205 Urban other
principal arterial
AYRES ST, SR 4 TO SR 141 S, NEWPORT
New Castle 1955 29,931 Urban other
principal arterial
WHITE CLAY CREEK, CAPITOL TRAIL/SR2, WINDY HILLS N/E
NEWARK
New Castle 1958 28,557 Urban other
principal arterial
BAYLOR BLVD., DUPONT HWY / US13, FARNHURST
Sussex 1916 25,258 Rural arterial IRON BRANCH, US 113/DUPONT BLVD, SOUTH MILLSBORO
New Castle 1967 19,569 Urban Interstate CONCORD PIKE, RAMP; I95NB-US202N, NORTH OF
WILMINGTON
New Castle 1965 19,087 Urban minor
arterial
SOUTH BRANCH NAAMANS CK, FOULK RD/SR261, NORTH OF
WILMINGTON
Sources: All data is from the 2013 National Bridge Inventory, released by the Federal Highway Administration in March 2014.
Note that specific conditions on bridge may have changed as a result of recent work. Cost estimates of bridge work provided as
part of the data and have been adjusted to 2013$ 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.