RACINE - Five bridges in Racine County should be considered for replacement, according to the federal national bridge inventory.

The five bridges, in as many municipalities, have a 50 percent or less sufficiency rating, a measure used to determine the condition of a bridge through on-site inspections completed every two years.

The bridge considered in the poorest condition in the county is located on Malchine Road in Norway. The 51-year-old bridge, spanning the Wind Lake Drainage Canal, has a sufficiency rating of 29 percent. Town Treasurer Thomas Kramer said Friday that bridge is slated for repair but the municipality is waiting for approval and money from the powers that be.

"It goes from county, to state, to federal so it's a rather long process," said Kramer, who expects work to begin on the bridge next spring. "The county has approved our rebuilding of this bridge and also has sent it on to the state which is reviewing it."

According to the latest inspection in 2006, the bridge, which has an average daily vehicle count of 175, is too narrow and is withstanding too much capacity on regular basis. The cost to replace the 43-foot bridge will be about $265,000, Kramer said.

The bridge in the second poorest condition, according to its rating, is located on Brook Road spanning Hoods Creek in Caledonia. That bridge, with a sufficiency rating of 37 percent and an average daily traffic count of 50 vehicles, is slated for a $500,000 reconstruction project starting this month.

A bridge that spans Root River on Seven Mile Road has a sufficiency rating of 41. It serves an average of 1,500 vehicles daily. That bridge is scheduled for reconstruction this summer, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Another bridge in question is located on Washington Avenue spanning Memorial Drive in Racine. That bridge, built in 1969, has an average daily traffic count of 23,900. Officials from the city were not available for comment. That bridge has a sufficiency rating of 44 percent.

"I think it's a little dilapidated," said Racine resident Troy Shesler as he stood near the bridge on Washington Avenue after giving plasma at the nearby ZLB Plasma Service center. "I don't think people care until something happens."

The 87-year-old bridge on Lathrop Avenue that spans the Sorensen Creek has a sufficiency rating of 47 percent. That bridge, near the southern edge of the county, has had its underbelly covered in graffiti. Its average traffic count is 1,650 vehicles a day. Mount Pleasant officials were not available for comment.

Another bridge on list, located in the Village of Waterford, was reconstructed this summer. That bridge on Fox Isle Drive, which spans the Fox River, scored a 42 percent. The one-lane covered bridge was built in 1980 to accommodate the residents who live on a small island on Lake Tichigan.

"Some of the foundation and bases were becoming unsafe," Village President David Richmond said of the bridge with a daily average of 630 vehicles.

According to the bridge inventory, another three dozen bridges in Racine County have a sufficiency rating of less than 80 percent and should be repaired. According to the inventory database, a low rating does not necessarily mean a bridge is unsafe for traffic.