ODOT falling behind on replacing state’s aging bridges, new report says

More than one in five bridges in Oregon was in “distressed” condition in 2024. That’s according to the Oregon Department of Transportation’s annual bridge condition report. Oregon also has the fewest number of bridges in “good” condition as determined by federal standards compared to six other Western states. Under ideal conditions, ODOT says it would be able to replace 27 of those bridges per year. But with its current resources, it’s only on pace to replace three.  Tova Peltz is a statewide capital program engineer at ODOT. She joins us with an update on how the state’s bridges are faring.