Florida has 276 bridges -- including six in Central Florida -- that are considered structurally deficient, which is the same designation the Minnesota bridge had before it suddenly collapsed.

Those 276 bridges in Florida are on the same federal government list of structurally deficient bridges as the one in Minneapolis that fell into the Mississippi River during rush hour on Wednesday.

Transportation engineer Robert Robertson said once a bridge gets that label, it's scheduled for repairs or replacement within six years. He said it also gets more frequent inspections.

"Every bridge is inspected every two years, more frequently if there are any structural issues with it," Steve Homan, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation District 5 office, told Local 6 News partner Florida Today.

A structurally deficient bridge may have cracks in the concrete on the deck, substructure or culverts.

Central Fla. Bridges Need Repair

Officials said two of the six deficient bridges in Central Florida are located on U.S. Highway 1 in southern Brevard County and are scheduled to be upgraded soon.

Three others are located on U.S. Highway 192 in Brevard County and are set to be repaired in 2009, according to transportation officials.

The other bridge is on state Road 11 in Flagler County. Officials said repair work on that bridge is scheduled following hurricane season.

State law requires that any bridge that receives a structurally deficient rating be replaced within six years, Homan said.

None of the state's bridges are the archway type that collapsed in Minnesota, said Ron Mead, structures and facilities engineer for the district.

Inspectors Not Target Of Cuts

Florida bridge inspections will not be affected by planned budget cuts, a state highway official said Thursday.

Florida is facing a looming budget shortfall and Gov. Charlie Crist has asked state agencies to plan on cutting their budgets by as much as 10 percent. But Crist has asked agency heads to target their cuts to avoid hurting priority missions, rather than cutting across the board.

Bridge inspections, including the highest priority inspections of certain "structurally deficient" bridges, will not be affected, said Robert Robertson, an engineer at the Florida Department of Transportation.

"There's 140 inspectors statewide that perform those services and that will not be affected by the budget crunch," Robertson said. "We consider that a very high priority to keep our bridges safe and inspections will not be cut back."

The state performs more frequent inspections of the hundreds of bridges the federal government considers "structurally deficient," until they can be repaired or replaced, which must be done within six years of the bridge being evaluated as deficient.

Worst Bridge Collapse

Florida's worst bridge collapse happened 27 years ago when 35 people were killed on Tampa Bay's Skyway Bridge in May 1980.

The bridge crumbled after being struck by a freighter. A Greyhound bus and seven cars fell 150 feet into the water.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.