It's been known to many that some of Syracuse's bridges need repair.

Last year's wall collapse of the bridge on South Salina Street brought more attention to the need. 

"Considering the general public and the commuters who are out on our roads every single day, we want to make sure that our bridges and the roads are as safe as possible for them," said AAA Public Relations & Corporate Communications Director Elizabeth Carey.

About 12 percent of the bridges in the city of Syracuse are either in poor condition or structurally deficient, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Transportation Research Organization (TRIP)..

"That doesn't mean that the bridge is in imminent collapse or danger to the public," said Rocky Moretti, TRIP Director of Policy and Research.

Instead, it means there's a need for repair.

"The danger to the public is that it's a creeping problem and the longer you put it off, the worse it gets and the most costly it gets," said Moretti.

The ratings are based on a 9-point scale. They're examining the deck of a bridge which is what you drive over, right underneath the bridge and also the structures that hold a bridge up.

"If the score of any category drops to a 4 or below, then that bridge is rated as poor or deficient. This database if vital to give us a sense of what's happening locally," said Moretti.

More 900,000 vehicles on the poor or deficient bridges every day.

While there are a number of bridges needing repairs, 60-percent are in fair condition. The rest are in good condition.

Wayne County's Public Works Superintendent, Kevin Rooney, said the finding weren't a big surprise.

"As owner of our structures, we really do know what condition most of them are in, but this helps reaffirm it and helps get the message out to the public," said Rooney.

Researchers say the next step is to try to get local, state and federal funding to address the problem.