but we would have to build 8003 more bridges to make No. 1.

The Federal Highway Administration* has allowed states to take advantage of a loophole in federal regulations, delaying bridge inspections to every four years instead of the two years normally required. While most states don't use this loophole, calling it unsafe, others drive a truck through it.

MSNBC posted the results of a nationwide survey that found Tennessee among the top states for bridge inspections.

Channel 10 reported today that we were one of only four states with a perfect inspection record, that is every bridge gets inspected every two years.

According to MSNBC's table that is not the case, it indicates that most states comply with that schedule. However the table does show that Tennessee is number four in the nation when considering the number of bridges involved.

4) Tennessee inspects 19,568 bridges every two years.
3) Missouri, 23,694
2) Iowa, 24,092
1) Ohio, 27,570

Illinois has 24,746 bridges, of which 10,839 or 42.1% can go up to four years between inspections.

*The Federal Highway Administrator J. Richard Capka, a Bush appointee, briefly ran the infamous Big Dig project in Boston before his job was eliminated in 2002.