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My mom always hated bridges. There was one in particular over the Hudson river 鈥� she would go silent, bite her lip, and by the way she gripped the wheel, I think she was prepared to pop a U-turn at any moment.

I say that so you鈥檒l understand it doesn鈥檛 take much for me to get nervous about a bridge. The deck of the Ship Canal Bridge looks to me like it belongs in the national museum of concrete.

So, of course, when , I started reading about it. And it turns out that its condition had been rated as “poor,” going back to 2011.

Now as we know, “poor” is an official term of the Federal Highway Administration. But it does not mean a bridge is in imminent danger of collapse. What it does mean is that it has 鈥渁dvanced deficiencies such as section loss, deterioration, cracking, spalling, or seriously affected primary structural components.鈥�

Yet, that bridge in Pittsburgh — which was rated “poor” but safe to use 鈥� still collapsed!

So, I thought, maybe it鈥檚 time to see if any of the bridges I use are also rated “poor” but are considered to be otherwise safe.

I am happy to say that the Ship Canal Bridge is not on the 鈥減oor鈥� list. However, according a December report from the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Homer M. Hadley Bridge is on the list.

In case you don鈥檛 recognize the name, the Homer M. Hadley Bridge is the Westbound I-90 bridge across Lake Washington, built in 1989, which will soon be carrying light rail as well as cars.

According to the WSDOT spreadsheet, the listed reason for that bridge being classified as poor is the 鈥渟ubstructure.鈥� That鈥檚 the part that holds up the bridge. It looks pretty sturdy to me, but that鈥檚 what the spreadsheet says.

As long as we鈥檙e on I-90 鈥� as you cross Mercer Island and head to Factoria, you cross over what鈥檚 called the Mercer Slough. Part of the crossing was built in 1940, another part in 1970 鈥� both parts are listed as 鈥減oor鈥� because of the condition of the superstructure. That鈥檚 the part just under the bridge deck.

In all, there are now 180 bridges in Washington rated as poor 鈥� but safe to use 鈥� just as the Forbes Avenue Bridge in Pittsburgh was rated the same way.

So, here鈥檚 my rhetorical question: Why do I see new lanes being added and repaving projects for roads that are firmly planted on the ground? Why do I see this state undertaking聽any new project when we haven鈥檛 maintained what we already have?

If you鈥檇 like to peruse the “poor” list to see if your favorite bridge is on it, you can check it out .

Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5 鈥� 9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the聽podcast here.