A week ago everyone was talking about a social media post that raised concerns, once again, about safety of the Veterans Memorial Bridge across Chautauqua Lake.

It’s a story The Post-Journal first reported months ago. State Transportation Department officials reassured officials in Bemus Point the bridge is safe to use after our reporting on the matter, and they did so again early this week in an attempt to put out fires on social media.

The Veterans Memorial Bridge project bears watching. As we said a couple of months ago, though, we have to take the state at their word that engineers are constantly evaluating the bridge’s safety as work continues. This project is going to be here for two more years, so area residents have a choice: either trust the engineers on the project and use the bridge or avoid the area and take the long way around Chautauqua Lake.

Interest in the Veterans Memorial Bridge does lead us to another question – why does the public not care about the 46 other bridges in Chautauqua County that state officials acknowledge are in poor condition. While stories and social media posts about the Veterans Memorial Bridge take on a life of their own, a report in July by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli about the $29 billion needed to bring local bridges throughout the state up to par generates nary a peep.

According to the report, of the 558 Chautauqua County bridges, 46 were found to be in poor condition. Repairs to bring these structures into compliance, DiNapoli’s office noted, would cost more than $185 million. Additionally, 253 structures were listed as fair with 259 listed as good.

That’s concerning. There isn’t enough money in local, county or state budgets, nor nearly enough crews available to do the work if enough money magically appeared, to quickly bring that many bridges up to snuff.

There’s a lot of interest in the safety of one of the county’s biggest bridges. But, in our view, there should be just as much interest in smaller bridges that aren’t being repaired this year.

We’re heading into budget time in the next couple of months. That makes this the time for local officials to be lobbying the state – and in some cases local taxpayers – to pony up to make sure the bridges people count on are safe to use for years to come.