Nine Long Island bridges that carry more than 67,000 vehicles daily are rated as being in "poor" condition, according to data from the New York State Department of Transportation.
A bridge is rated poor because of possible issues with decking, support beams and road surface.
That does not mean a bridge is unsafe or in danger of collapsing. But, it may need frequent inspections, maintenance and ultimately replacement if conditions worsen.
Newsday reports six of Long Island's poor bridges were built before 1935.
Several are jointly maintained by the Long Island Rail Road and local municipalities.
Maintenance of the other bridges is spread out among the state, Suffolk County and local towns.
The Sunrise Highway Bridge over North Road in Hampton Bays is the island's busiest of the poorly-rated bridges. It handles nearly 44,000 vehicles daily.
Civil engineers said conventional highway bridges are designed for a 75- to 100-year life span, but maintenance is expected sometime after the age of 30.
The good news is that state data show the poor bridges make up fewer than 1% of the island compared with 10% of those in the rest of the state.
