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Durbin Statement on Illinois Bridges

Statement

Date: Aug. 2, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Infrastructure

United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement today in the wake of Wednesday's bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

"The terrible tragedy in Minnesota is a wake up call for all of us. Although our bridges in Illinois appear to be in better shape than in some other areas of the country, we still have far too many that are structurally unsound and are in need of repair.

We at the federal level will continue to work with the Governor, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the General Assembly to make sure we have adequate resources dedicated to making sure our public infrastructure is safe."

The Illinois Department of Transportation reports that 17.9% -- 4,773 bridges out of an estimated 26,585 -- bridges in Illinois are "structurally deficient and/or functionally obsolete." Illinois has far fewer structurally deficient bridges than the national average. Studies show the percentage of the nation's 590,750 bridges rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete is approximately 27%.


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