Young Brunette Girl Wearing A Hat Outside On The Wooden Bridge

The failure of bridges is of special concern for structural engineers in trying to learn lessons vital to bridge design, construction and maintenance. The failure of bridges first assumed national interest during the Victorian era when many new designs were being built, often using new materials.
In the United States, the National Bridge Inventory tracks the structural evaluations of all bridges, including designation as "structurally deficient" and "functionally obsolete".