Like clockwork, Utah's 2,800 bridges get inspected every two years. At present only 6 percent of those are deemed to be in poor condition. The rest are rated as good or fair.

That's the latest word from Jim McMinimee, program-development director for the Utah Department of Transportation.

"Our bridges are safe," McMinimee assured Utah transportation commissioners Friday.

In early August, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. asked UDOT to inspect the state's 200 most-traveled bridges. That work is under way, and an additional 100 fracture-critical bridges have been added to the list.

"We'll have all 300 inspected by the end of October," McMinimee said.

Fracture-critical refers to bridges where, if one element fails, several sections can fail. That is what happened in Minneapolis on Aug. 1.

"It's become part of our design criteria to construct bridges with redundancy" - to provide several layers of safety, McMinimee said, adding that only one Box Elder County bridge is of the same vintage and design as the crumbled Minneapolis structure. About 20 cars per day travel across it.

As a rule, Utah's bridges branded as structurally deficient get scrutinized every six months.

" 'Structurally deficient' means a bridge has problems but is not necessarily at risk for failure," McMinimee said. The Beehive State has 111 bridges in that category. Of those 111, some 32 are under reconstruction, 38 are funded and in design, and 41 remain unfunded. "That 41 represents $300 million worth of needs," McMinimee said.

The state's older bridges not only need upgrades, but also require added capacity, according to UDOT Deputy Director Carlos Braceras.

"The 41 we don't have funding for yet - many are in that situation," McMinimee said.

cmckitrick@sltrib.com