Kansas bridges: Millions of square feet in poor condition

Colter Robinson
·2 min read

KANSAS (KSNT) – Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration shows more than 5% of bridges in Kansas are in poor condition.

There are 24,907 bridges monitored by the DOT in Kansas. In 2023, the DOT found 3.24% of bridge deck area in the Sunflower State was in poor condition. A bridge is determined to be in ‘poor’ condition when it meets the minimum tolerable limits left in place.

In total, there are 1,305 bridges in Kansas for 3,139,289 total square feet of deck area in poor condition, according to DOT data. In contrast, there are 13,171 bridges in good condition in Kansas.

  • Vermillion Creek Tributary Stone Arch Bridge is the oldest bridge in Kansas and is located in rural Pottawatomie County. Photos provided courtesy of the National Park Service.
    Vermillion Creek Tributary Stone Arch Bridge is the oldest bridge in Kansas and is located in rural Pottawatomie County. Photos provided courtesy of the National Park Service.
  • Vermillion Creek Tributary Stone Arch Bridge is the oldest bridge in Kansas and is located in rural Pottawatomie County. Photos provided courtesy of the National Park Service.
    Vermillion Creek Tributary Stone Arch Bridge is the oldest bridge in Kansas and is located in rural Pottawatomie County. Photos provided courtesy of the National Park Service.

Kansas also has an inventory of more than 800 bridges that are more than 100-years-old. The oldest bridge monitored by the DOT is the Vermillion Creek Tributary Stone Arch Bridge which is 153-years-old and located in rural Pottawatomie County. Of the bridges over 100-years-old, 292 of them were listed as being in poor condition.

While 5.24% of bridges in Kansas are in poor condition, 6.8% of bridges in the nation are listed as being in poor condition. This places Kansas at 34th in the nation for bridges in poor condition. West Virginia currently has the worst percentage at 19.69%.

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The Kansas Department of Transportation’s (KDOT) Off-System Bridge program is awarding $20.5 million in FY 2025 funds to 20 bridge projects in Kansas while the Kansas Local Bridge Improvement Program (KLBIP) is awarding $21.8 million in FY 2024 KDOT funds to 15 projects. A total of 16 bridges will be replaced and 12 will be permanently removed from local systems. KDOT received a total of 176 applications with requests totaling $162.4 million for the previous cycle of local bridge programs.

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