Between Jan. 1, 2006 and June 24, 2008, a total of 1,280 serious defects were identified on 228 State and 495 locally-owned highway bridges in New York State. To determine whether these defects were addressed within the required time frame of seven weeks, the report reviewed the records relating to a sample of 204 of the defects which pertain to 44 State and 74 locally owned bridges. It found that 69 of the 204 defects (33.8%) pertaining to 25 State and 16 locally owned bridges were not addressed within the required time frame. In fact, it took, on average, more than 17 weeks to address these 69 defects. This report contains 11 recommendations for strengthening the Dept.¿s oversight of the actions taken in addressing serious structural defects on bridges.