Traffic on Interstate 70 in Washington, Pa., is flowing normally again. Crews have finished cleaning up the debris from a partial bridge collapse onto the road.

But worrisome questions remain. Just how bad is the shape of Pennsylvania's bridges?

Team 4 investigative reporter Jim Parsons says it's bad, and it has actually gotten worse in the past few years.

A 2-year-old study of Pennsylvania's bridges by a Washington, D.C. research group is in the process of being updated.

The Road Information Program (TRIP) says despite PennDOT's claims that bridge conditions are improving, it just isn't so.

"Pennsylvania has the third-highest rate of structurally deficient bridges in the nation. This is behind only Rhode Island and Oklahoma," TRIP's Carolyn Bonifas said. "Pennsylvania has 25 percent of their bridges in structurally deficient condition."

TRIP's latest research shows the bridges around Pittsburgh are the worst in the state.

"According to the latest numbers we're putting together now in Pittsburgh, that area has the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges," Bonifas said. "About 32 percent of the bridges are structurally deficient."

That's a 10 percent increase in bad bridges since the the last time TRIP studied the issue two years ago.

TRIP issued a report in 2003 that listed the Kenmawr Bridge in Swissvale as one of the most structurally deficient in the Pittsburgh area. The bridge has received no repairs since the report was issued.

What has occurred is that the Port Authority built an entrance to the busway right next to the bridge. That means the number of vehicles traveling over the Kenmawr Bridge has increased.

Built in 1910, the bridge carries an estimated 15,000 vehicles a day, many of them heading for Kennywood in the summer months. It's a local example of a statewide problem.

"Pennsylvania's infrastructure throughout the state is aging rapidly," Bonifas said. "This will continue to be the case unless the state can find the funds to put toward the transportation system."

In an interview with WTAE Channel 4 Action News on Wednesday, Gov. Ed Rendell called on the federal government to help pay the estimated $7 billion that will be required to fix all of Pennsylvania's aging bridges.