Structure 16103200000000 · Cook County, IL

55th ST over Flag Creek

Carries 55th ST over Flag Creek, 2 M W US 45.

Overall conditionFair

Set by its lowest-rated component: Deck and Superstructure and Substructure at 6 of 9.

How ratings work
Decksets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructuresets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Substructuresets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Channelnot part of overall8/9 · Very Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT179 FT OVERALL25 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9Superstructure 6/9Substructure 6/9

179 ft end to end, longest span 78 ft: about 2 semi-trucks nose to tail. Lengths and the semi-truck on the deck are drawn to the same scale. Each part is colored by its latest inspection rating. The inventory records lengths but not heights or the layout of the shorter spans, so those are drawn as typical for a multi-beam bridge.

Built1958rebuilt 1992
Length179.5 ft54.7 m
Daily traffic16,600counted 2022
Last inspectedJuly 2023every 24 months

Location

StateIllinois
CountyCook
Location2 M W US 45
Carries55th ST
CrossesFlag Creek
Coordinates41.78965, -87.90615

Physical Characteristics

MaterialPrestressed Concrete
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length179.5 ft (54.7 m)
Max Span78.1 ft (23.8 m)
Deck Width69.9 ft (21.3 m)
Deck Area1165.1 sq m
Main Spans3
Year Built1958 (reconstructed 1992)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic16,600 (2022)
Truck Traffic4%
Lanes On Bridge4

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionJuly 2023
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number016103200000000

How Bridge Ratings Work

Inspectors rate each major part of a bridge (the deck you drive on, the superstructure of beams that holds it up, and the substructure of piers and abutments beneath) on a 0–9 scale. A bridge's overall condition is its lowest of those ratings, so one deteriorated component makes the whole bridge "poor."

0Failed
1Imminent failure
2Critical
3Serious
4Poor
5Fair
6Satisfactory
7Good
8Very good
9Excellent
Good · lowest component 7–9
Fair · lowest component 5–6
Poor · lowest component 0–4

A poor rating is not a closure. It means the bridge is flagged for priority repair or replacement; bridges judged unsafe are closed or posted with weight limits. The waterway (channel) rating is reported, but it does not count toward the overall classification.

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