47 Wayne County bridges labeled structurally deficient

Palladium-Item staff and wire reports

About 11 percent of Indiana bridges are classified as "structurally deficient" -- the same designation inspectors gave to the Minneapolis interstate bridge that collapsed this week.

Of Indiana's 18,361 bridges, 2,066 are ranked structurally deficient, according to an Associated Press analysis of 2006 statistics from the Federal Highway Administration. Nationwide, at least 73,533 of 607,363 bridges listed, or about 12 percent, were classified as structurally deficient.

Of Wayne County's 342 bridges, 47, or 13.7 percent, are deemed structurally deficient. Wayne County government is responsible for 232 of those bridges, which include bridges over 200 feet in Richmond but not bridges over state highways or interstates