EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — The closing of bridges like the Sherman Minton Bridge over the Ohio River in southeast Indiana will become more common unless the state starts spending more on infrastructure, the director of a Washington-based policy group said.

“Thousands of bridges, just like this one, are nearing the end of their designed life spans and can become structurally deficient at any time, resulting in millions of dollars in repair costs that can quickly sap a state’s budget,” James Corless told the Evansville Courier & Press in a story published Sunday.

Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered the bridge that links Louisville, Ky., and New Albany along Interstate 64 closed on Sept. 9 after a crack was found in a load-bearing steel support beam.

Federal records show that nearly a fifth of the bridges in Indiana are in less than satisfactory shape.

Indiana has 2,591 highway bridges. Of those, 146 were rated “structurally deficient” and 323 earned a “functionally obsolete” rating, according to December 2010 statistics compiled by the Federal Highway Administration. That’s an increase from 2009, when four fewer bridges were rated as functionally obsolete and 30 fewer were rated as structurally deficient.

A designation of structurally deficient doesn’t mean a bridge is unsafe, but it does mean it has elements that need monitoring and parts that need to be scheduled for repair or replacement. A designation of functionally obsolete means a bridge is structurally sound, but no longer meets transportation standards and demands.

Indiana Transportation Commissioner Michael Cline told a state legislative study committee last month that age is the major reason for the uptick in the number of bridges — especially highway bridges — that need work. The Transportation Department oversees 540 bridges that were built in the 1950s.

He told the committee that if the state were to spend $100 million a year on bridge maintenance, 42 percent of the bridges would be in excellent, good or satisfactory condition, 50 percent would be in fair condition and 8 percent would be in poor condition.

If the state were to spend $200 million a year, 55 percent would be in satisfactory or better condition, 42 percent would be in fair condition and 3 percent would be in poor condition. At $300 million a year, 56 percent would be in satisfactory or better condition, 41 percent would be fair and 3 percent would be poor.

Posted 9/20/2011