Interactive map shows rating for Camden, Gloucester county bridges

The collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday morning has renewed interest in bridge conditions and aging infrastructure across America and New Jersey.

While the collision from a massive cargo ship against the bridge's support beam is an unpredictable catastrophe, bridge experts say the structure's quick collapse is like a glimpse into a long-standing infrastructure problem.

Rick Geddes, an infrastructure policy expert and director of Cornell University’s infrastructure policy program told USA Today that "this disaster reveals how exposed America’s critical infrastructure is to sudden and devastating accidents as well as intentional destruction.”

Here’s a quick look at the condition of some of southern New Jersey’s bridges.

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Camden and Gloucester counties

Roughly 45,000 bridges across the country were rated in poor condition by the Federal Highway Administration, according to a USA Today analysis of the previous year's National Bridge Inventory.

That national total of poor-rated bridges made up roughly 7% of all bridges in the nation, which was an improvement from the 11% of bridges rated poor in 2010.

Current data show that only about 6.48%, or about 442 bridges, in New Jersey would have a poor rating and about 1,286 of the state’s 6,820 bridges, or about 19%, are in need of some repair.

Bridges in both Gloucester and Camden seem to be faring better than bridges in the state’s 19 other counties.

Almost 14% of bridges in Camden are in need of some repair, though the percent of bridges considered in poor condition are slightly higher than the statewide rate, at about 6.5%.

Meanwhile, Gloucester County has just under 14% of its 243 bridges needing some repair, but barely 3% of the county's bridges are rated poor by the FHA.

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Gloucester has the second lowest ranking for percentage of bridges in poor condition. Essex County has just 14 of 500 bridges, or just 2%, with a poor rating.

Chris Ullery is the Philadelphia Hub Data Reporter for the USA Today Network. Reach him at cullery@couriertimes.com or find him on Twitter at @ulleryatinell.

Interactive map shows Burlington County bridge ratings

Check out this interactive map of bridge conditions around Cumberland County