Twenty two percent of Pennsylvania's 23,000 highway bridges are deficient, which, if you've ever had the misfortune of driving up I-81 in that state, you know in your heart to be true. Twenty one percent of Iowa's bridges don't make the grade. Same goes for 20 percent of South Dakota's, and 18 percent of Oklahoma's. These percentages are all considerably higher than the nationwide average of about 10 percent. On the other hand, Nevada is doing the best job of keeping its bridges up to code -- fewer than 2 percent of that state's bridges are deficient. Likewise only 2 percent of Florida and Texas bridges are deemed deficient, and 3 percent of Arizona and Utah's.

America's bridges are a sad story. Many were built in the middle of the 20th century, when the United States invested in its infrastructure, and are reaching or have passed the lifespans that were planned when they were built. And since the United States no longer invests in its infrastructure, thanks to Republicans and their unwillingness to tax the rich, our bridges are aging and decaying. They're becoming symbols of our national decline, but symbols millions of us cross every day. There are more than 60,000 structurally deficient bridges in the U.S., and tens of thousands more that are functionally obsolete. Where are you most likely to find yourself crossing a structurally deficient bridge? That said, don't feel too comforted if you happen to be from Nevada, Florida, or Texas—while they may be doing a great job of keeping up with bridge maintenance and replacement, they may also be doing a bad job of evaluating their bridges or reporting the structurally deficient ones. (Texas, not staying up to speed on whether things are safe? Surely not!)

Bridges should be a win-win-win—repairing or replacing them means increased safety for the people crossing them, it means huge numbers of jobs, and it's an economic benefit as the flow of workers and goods is expedited. But the Republican project of starving the nation of resources means that bridges are a lose-lose-lose, and every day we just have to hope that it won't lead to a bridge collapse and loss of life.