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    Stahl vs. Beton: Woraus sind die Amerikas Brücken wirklich gemacht? [OC]
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    Stahl vs. Beton: Woraus sind die Amerikas Brücken wirklich gemacht? [OC]

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    1. TreeFruitSpecialist on

      [OC] This map shows the most common structural material used in bridges across every US county, based on the 2025 release of the National Bridge Inventory from the Federal Highway Administration.

      * Each county is colored by the single most common material used in its bridges.
      * Tooltips include the FIPS code, top bridge type, and the number of bridges using that material.
      * Counties with no bridges are shown in light gray.

      I cleaned and summarized the data in R, using `dplyr`, `sf`, and `ggplot2`, then exported the final dataset to Datawrapper for easier sharing and interactivity.

      **Live Map (interactive):**
      [Click here to explore it](https://www.datawrapper.de/_/iuzyW/)

      **Total Bridges in Dataset:** 743,398
      **Source:** [Federal Highway Administration – NBI 2025](https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/disclaim.cfm?nbiYear=2025allstatesallrecsdel&nbiZip=zip)
      **Tools:** R (data wrangling + spatial join), Datawrapper (map)

    2. spaceporter on

      This map probably needs seven gradient maps for each specific material showing the percentages of bridges using the material.

    4. Count_Dongula on

      This map is likely inaccurate. I am from Los Alamos. There is only, like, one bridge. There is a steel arch called the Omega Bridge, and it’s really not that impressive. Other than this, there are footbridges, but those were mostly wood or steel when I lived there, and they were on trails.

    6. WaffleStompin4Luv on

      Define „bridge“. If you’re talking about any vehicular, pedestrian, or wildlife overpass maintained by government funds, then a culvert would fit this criteria, and the majority of „bridges“ would be culverts, which are predominately made of metal or plastic. If this is federal data, they typically classify a bridge as something over a 20′ span clearance, which rules out most culverts.

    7. FightOnForUsc on

      It’s interesting to me that you can see the state borders. I would imagine something like this would be more weather dependent. But it’s clear that it’s largely impacted by policy

    9. hikeonpast on

      I’m guessing that freeway overpasses do not meet your definition of “bridge”. Otherwise, reinforced or prestressed concrete would dominate, at least throughout the west coast.

      Consider sharing your input constraints – what is a bridge? Is it foot traffic, vehicular traffic, trains? Is there a minimum span to qualify?

    10. jeffh4 on

      I tried asking Google AI and Chat GPT why Tennessee has more Steel with Coating bridges than its neighboring states, but got back „These are the advantages of using Steel with Coatings for bridges“ and „Here’s a list of possible reasons that may or may not be true“ respectively.

      Looks like AI can’t quite answer this question yet.

    11. chicagotim1 on

      Well „pre tested“ and „coating“ certainly *seem* like bullshit based on what this map shows, but I’m not expert

    13. retroman1987 on

      I showed this to my dad, who is a materials engineer and bridge designer, and he laughed.

      This map is showing nothing.

    14. retroman1987 on

      What is this even showing? Materials for the bridge deck? The girders? The abutments?

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