Rural Nebraska in need of road and bridge fixes

According to a study by the National Transportation Research Group, nine percent of Nebraska’s rural bridges are rated as poor or structurally deficient.

That ranks 35th in the U.S., and officials are looking at ways to improve this number.

Governor Pete Ricketts said that things like the Rural Transportation Innovation Act have helped repair and replace nearly 200 bridges in the last three years.

However, the report also found that 20 percent of the state’s rural roads rate poor or mediocre.

The rate of traffic deaths on Nebraska’s rural roads is 2 1/2 times higher than on other roads.

The report suggests more infrastructure repair in rural areas, and an added emphasis on roads an bridges.