Bridging the Maintenance Gap: Oregon's Path to Safe, Reliable Travel
 Construction crews use a crane to remove the old Van Buren Bridge in Corvallis in preparation for the new bridge.
March 18, 2025
For more information, contact Katherine Benenati (Katherine.A.Benenati@odot.oregon.gov), 503-871-0388.
SALEM — Oregon's aging bridge inventory is a growing concern for ODOT’s Bridge Program, in particular the Interstate Era bridges.
ODOT's 2024 Bridge Conditions Report spotlights Interstate Era bridges built between 1958 and 1973. During this 16-year span, ODOT built on average 63 bridges a year, thanks to funding provided by the National Interstate and Defense Highway Act. Today, these bridges are between 50 and 65 years old.
“Much of our transportation infrastructure is aging and nowhere is this more apparent than with Oregon’s bridges and pavements.” said ODOT Director Kris Strickler. “We do our best to preserve and repair our bridges as replacing them is costly. We face a growing backlog of bridge preservation needs caused by the structural revenue issue facing transportation agencies across the nation. ODOT is working with our partners to identify sufficient and sustainable funding that would allow us to fund our critical core services including preserving our bridges, maintaining our transportation system, and making travel safer for all Oregonians.”
The 2024 report was presented to the Oregon Transportation Commission last week.
ODOT inspects bridges over a two-year cycle and summarizes bridge condition ratings on state highways based on National Bridge Inventory (NBI) and ODOT data. NBI ratings look at the major structural components of a bridge (deck or driving surface, superstructure, and substructure (base), or culvert rating), deficient bridge classification, and structural condition rating.
A significant portion of state-owned bridges are still in fair condition due to regular maintenance. However, much like maintaining a car, continuing to make expensive repairs on bridges nearing the end of their lifespan becomes less cost effective and practical.
The normal lifespan of a bridge is between 75-100 years and 60% of our inventory was built before 1973. In the foreseeable future, there will be more than 1,000 Interstate Era bridges that must be replaced. However, current funding levels pay for on average only three bridge replacements each year. At this rate, an Oregon bridge will need to stay in service for over 900 years, well beyond the expected service life.
With more than 2,700 state highway bridges across Oregon that vary in size, age, type and condition, the state’s needs are outpacing our resources. We continue to focus on maintaining the bridges we have through preservation and maintenance work to ensure our aging bridge inventory remains safe.
How do we maintain our investment?
Compared to other western states, ODOT has the most bridges in fair condition. To keep bridges in fair condition or better we perform both maintenance and preservation activities. Effective bridge preservation actions are intended to delay the need for costly reconstruction or replacement by applying preservation strategies on bridges while they are still in good or fair condition and before the onset of serious deterioration. Bridge preservation encompasses preventive maintenance and rehabilitation activities.
Preservation activities include lubricating bearings, sealing concrete and deck joints, and painting steel. These treatments prevent future damage and keep the bridge performing well. Maintenance activities encompass a wide range of treatments that are delivered at every stage of the bridge’s life cycle, such as fixing unexpected damage.
We also consider the environment the bridge is located in. For example, the coastal climate is very different than the central Oregon climate. Bridges exposed to salt air require different treatments than bridges in snow zones. In addition, older bridges have a different maintenance routine than newer bridges.
Highlights from the report
- ODOT owns and maintains 2,781 bridges.
- 60% of state-owned bridges in the National Bridge Inventory were built before 1973.
- Last year, we completed 1,331 state-owned bridge inspections.
- We paved 35 bridge decks, repaired six bridges in poor condition and addressed 63 other bridges with high-priority maintenance needs.
- We assessed 130 bridges for load rating in 2024 and placed new or revised restrictions on 11.
ODOT's Seismic Program making progress
ODOT’s Seismic Program continues to make seismic improvements to bridges along high priority routes. Several projects are either under design, construction, or have recently been completed. These projects will offer seismically resilient highway corridors that can save lives and help the Oregon economy recover after a major seismic event.
Recently completed seismic work as part of the U.S. 97 / OR 58 Bridge Retrofits:
- Pelican City Bridge (U.S. 97 over Lakeport Blvd & UPRR)
- S. 97 over Nevada Ave.
- S. 97 over United States Bureau of Reclamation Canal
- Green Springs Interchange (U.S. 97 over Oregon140)
- S. 97 over Klamath River
The final two bridges in this project are expected to be completed by summer 2025.
The Southern Oregon Seismic Bridge Retrofit project, funded by HB 2017, is testing the buckling restraint bracing system which has proved to be a cost-effective retrofit method for bridges with multi-column supports. This project is divided into four separate projects. The second project addressed seismic vulnerabilities of five bridges on I-5, which are all complete. The third project also addressed five bridges on Oregon 140 and is complete. The fourth project replaces three bridges on Oregon 99, with two of these projects completed in 2024. The third bridge is expected to be completed summer of 2025.
There are many more seismic retrofit priority route projects in the works statewide, including the Abernethy Bridge near Oregon City and the Van Buren Bridge in Corvallis.
To learn more about the condition of Oregon’s bridges, check out the 2024 Bridge Conditions Report on our Bridge Section website.
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