Northwest Indiana still has some work to do, when it comes to getting its highway bridges in good condition, according to Scott Weber with the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission.
He told NIRPC's Surface Transportation Committee Tuesday that the percentage of region highway bridges rated "good" rose from under 32 in 2017 to more than 39 last year. "However, that is still short of the statewide target of 47.2 percent. So this tells us that, presumably, there are other areas around the state where there are a higher percentage of bridges in good condition than, probably, this corner of the state," Weber said.
But the region is beating the state's target for the percentage of highway bridges in poor condition. Just one percent were rated "poor" in 2019 and 2021, well below the state's goal of 3.1 percent. The rest of the bridges fall into the "fair" category.
Weber also reported that rush hour traffic congestion has improved over the past five years. The downward trend began even before the pandemic, but congestion did tick up again in 2021.
