In the aftermath of the tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis that killed at least five and injured 100, officials in southwestern Connecticut are focusing on the safety of the area?s bridges.

Connecticut's Department of Transportation confirms the alarming statistic that twelve of the state?s bridges are in worse condition than the one that went down in Minnesota. Eight of them are in southwestern Connecticut.

Riversville Road Bridge in Greenwich and the Farms Road Bridge in Stamford are listed by the DOT as ?critical.? Several of the decaying bridges have recently posted weight limits in an effort to avoid collapse.

Norwalk's Route 123 Bridge and the Bailiwick Road Bridge in Greenwich are closed for repairs and the Hickok Road Bridge in New Canaan and the Route 59 bridge in Easton are being inspected monthly.

The DOT director of communication said in a statement, ?Obviously, any bridge with a 'critical' rating of any one component is of urgent concern to the DOT and is inspected frequently -- every one, three or six months in many cases. Some of the bridges on the 'critical' list are closed and slated for replacement. Some have had new weight restrictions imposed on them.?

Gov. Rell announced Sunday she is launching a $100 million program to fix Connecticut's bridges. "There is a lesson to be learned from the recent tragedy in Minneapolis," Rell said. "We must take aggressive action now, during this construction season, to accelerate the repair,replacement and maintenance of our bridges."

AP wire reports contributed to this article.

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