“Structurally deficient” is a retired federal term

What happened to “structurally deficient”?

In July 2026, PlainBridge checked this terminology against the Federal Highway Administration's Bridge Condition table and current SNBI documentation. According to the agency, “structurally deficient” was eliminated from program use beginning with the 2018 archived data. The term still appears in older federal tables, news stories, and local reports, but current reporting uses three condition categories: Good, Fair, and Poor.

PlainBridge keeps this page at its established URL because people still search for the old term. Throughout current data pages, however, we use Poor condition. The database field names sd_count and is_structurally_deficient are retained only for backward compatibility and hold the current Poor-condition test.

How current condition categories work

For NBI component ratings on the 0–9 scale, PlainBridge follows the current federal thresholds:

• Good: the lowest applicable deck, superstructure, substructure, or culvert rating is 7–9.
• Fair: the lowest applicable rating is 5–6.
• Poor: the lowest applicable rating is 0–4.

A Poor category identifies a recorded component condition. It is not a live safety certification, closure order, prediction of failure, or statement about the cause of deterioration. Posting, restriction, and closure decisions belong to the responsible bridge owner and its engineers.

Why old reports can disagree with current data

FHWA changed both its terminology and its data specification. The agency also discontinued the calculated Sufficiency Rating and Status items. A historical report may therefore show an SD status or sufficiency score that has no current equivalent in the federal inventory.

PlainBridge may show a sufficiency score as a clearly labeled historical, recomputed reference. That score does not change the current Good/Fair/Poor result and should not be read as present-day funding eligibility, posting, or closure status.

What the state comparison shows

The chart above compares the share of each state's bridge records in Poor condition. It is a descriptive inventory measure, not a ranking of driver safety or agency performance. Bridge mix, ownership, environment, inspection timing, and the age and type of structures all differ across states.

Check the rankings page for the complete state-by-state breakdown and the 2024 release date attached to the comparison.

What this data cannot tell you

An annual federal inventory is not a live status feed. It cannot tell you whether a bridge is safe to cross at this moment, whether work occurred after the recorded inspection, or whether an emergency restriction has just been imposed. It also cannot substitute for an engineering evaluation.

• For current closures and restrictions, check the state DOT or bridge owner's official traveler-information service.
• For posted vehicle limits, obey signs at the bridge and verify with the owner.
• For visible damage or an immediate hazard, contact the responsible agency or emergency services.

Verify the definition

These official FHWA references document the terminology and the current reporting specification:

• FHWA bridge condition terminology, including the retirement of “Structurally Deficient.”
• FHWA SNBI questions and answers, including discontinued calculated items.
• Specifications for the National Bridge Inventory, the current reporting specification.

The Bottom Line

“Structurally deficient” is useful only as historical vocabulary. For current NBI data, use Poor condition: the lowest applicable major-component rating is 4 or below. Treat that as an inspection-record category, not a real-time answer about whether to cross.