Structure 898 · Berrien County, MI

Buchanan Road over Us-31

Carries Buchanan Road over Us-31, 2.0 Mi W Of Niles.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Decksets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructuresets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Substructure7/9 · Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT403 FT OVERALL50 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 6/9 · sets the ratingSubstructure 7/9

403 ft end to end, longest span 111 ft: about 6 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.

Built197353 years old
Length402.9 ft122.8 m
Daily traffic7,073counted 2010
Last inspectedMay 2024every 24 months

Location

StateMichigan
CountyBerrien
Location2.0 Mi W Of Niles
CarriesBuchanan Road
CrossesUs-31
Coordinates41.82778, -86.31345

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length402.9 ft (122.8 m)
Max Span110.9 ft (33.8 m)
Deck Width114.8 ft (35 m)
Deck Area4,298 sq m
Main Spans5
Year Built1973

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic7,073 (2010)
Truck Traffic16%
Lanes On Bridge7
Lanes Under Bridge6

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionMay 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour CriticalNot applicable
Structure Number000000000000898

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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