Structure 836 · Fairbanks North Star County, AK

Elliott Highway over Chatanika River

Carries Elliott Highway over Chatanika River, Mile Point 10.5.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Deck9/9 · Excellent
Superstructure7/9 · Good
Substructuresets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Channelnot part of overall7/9 · Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT249 FT OVERALL50 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 9/9Superstructure 7/9Substructure 6/9 · sets the rating

249 ft end to end, longest span 82 ft: about 3 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.

Built1971rebuilt 2019
Length249.0 ft75.9 m
Daily traffic910counted 2020
Last inspectedAugust 2024every 24 months

Location

StateAlaska
CountyFairbanks North Star
LocationMile Point 10.5
CarriesElliott Highway
CrossesChatanika River
Coordinates65.08439, -147.72570

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length249.0 ft (75.9 m)
Max Span82.0 ft (25 m)
Deck Width37.1 ft (11.3 m)
Deck Area857.7 sq m
Main Spans3
Year Built1971 (reconstructed 2019)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic910 (2020)
Truck Traffic33%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionAugust 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical7 — Countermeasures installed
Structure Number0836

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.