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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

MA Ranks 26th for Percentage of "Worst Bridges"

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Monday, April 13, 2015   

BOSTON - If your morning commute takes you across a bridge, a new report finds you could be traveling across a span with issues related to its superstructure, deck or substructure. Alison Black, chief economist with the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, says Massachusetts ranks in the middle of the road at number 26 among states for the percentage of bridges in its inventory that are in serious need of repair, according to the group's new report.

"Just under nine percent of the bridge inventory is classified as structurally deficient, so it's 459 bridges," says Black. "The average age of all the bridges in Massachusetts is 56 years old."

She notes, aging bridges in the Commonwealth are a good deal older than the national average for a bridge, which is about 42 years. Nationwide, the report indicates more than 60,000 bridges are structurally compromised and many of those connect the most-traveled interstate highways.

Black says Congress faces an end-of-May deadline for funding the Highway Trust Fund and many states are in a holding pattern waiting on a clear signal as to whether federal funds will be forthcoming.

"So, when there is that uncertainty, that certainly impacts the pace of some of this work, as well as getting new projects out the door," says Black. "For many New England states they are very highly dependent on that federal aid program for their capital investment."

Black says the nation is under-funding road work at all levels. She says a big concern is that even as states play catch-up on bridge work, it often comes at the expense of pavement needs in many states.


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