BATON ROUGE - A viral video shared widely on social media sparked concern across Louisiana after captions claimed that the worn-down bridge depicted in the video was the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. Louisiana Department of Transportation says the video does not depict a bridge in Louisiana, but in Florida.

Federal data does show there are bridges in Louisiana that are in need of repair or replacement. Structural engineers have rated hundreds of bridges in the state "poor."

Louisiana has the 24th most bridges in the country, with many of them built 50 to 100 years ago. Many of them, according to the National Bridge Inventory, haven't been maintained or upgraded as regularly as they might have been.

Digging through the 2025 Department of Transportation inspection data for every bridge in Louisiana, WBRZ found 317 different bridges located throughout our viewing area that were rated by structural engineers as "poor" or problematic, meaning the engineers say the bridges are in need of repair or replacement.

The American Society of Civil Engineers, in its latest report, gives Louisiana bridges a D+, below the national average of "C."

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy says the low grade highlights an opportunity for improvement through federal investment and coordination with state and local officials. The Senator pledges to get more funding to repair these bridges in the coming months and years.

State Transportation officials said the number of poorly rated bridges is a reflection of money, and the schedule to repair these problematic bridges is largely determined by funding.

"With the resources we have and the funding we have available, we address as many bridges as we can across the state," DOTD Communications Director Rodney Mallett said.

They also say they're aware of these numbers, and they insist that no bridge that remains open and carrying traffic is unsafe.

"I can tell you that all of our bridges, upwards of 14,000 bridges throughout the state, are inspected often, and if they are open, they are safe for travel," he said.

Transportation officials say those conditions develop over time and are monitored through routine inspections.