LITTLE ROCK—A year after a fatal Minneapolis bridge collapse prompted inspections of Arkansas’ spans, nearly 1,000 bridges in the state are still structurally deficient, highway officials say.

Eight percent of the 12,531 bridges inspected by Arkansas have the same federal designation as the I-35W bridge in downtown Minneapolis that collapsed over the Mississippi River, the state Highway and Transportation Department said. Arkansas highway officials say that none are in danger of falling down, but said the price tag to repair them all is steep.

Director Dan Flowers said the state estimates it would cost about $1.6 billion over the next 10 years to address all of the structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges in the state.

Bridges deemed structurally deficient have elements that need monitoring and parts that need to be scheduled for repair or replacement. The designation does not necessarily mean a bridge is unsafe, although it is one of the factors used to determine when a bridge is at risk, and which ones qualify for federal money.

“It would take a major financial commitment of both federal and state funds to eliminate all structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges from our state highways, county roads and city streets,” Flowers said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the funds available to make all those needed improvements at this time.”

Highway officials, however, said they’re increasing the number of workers trained to inspect bridges from 20 to 40 — an increase that was started before last year’s bridge collapse.

The Minneapolis bridge collapsed during the evening rush hour a year ago Friday into a tangle of steel and concrete and crushed cars. Thirteen people died and 145 more were injured.

In the days after the Minneapolis collapse, Arkansas officials inspected the 11 bridges in the state that had designs similar to the I-35W span and declared them safe. Of the steel-deck truss bridges, five are operated by counties and six are within the state highway system.