Structure L040022PTMUNNBI · Essex County, MA

HWY Amesbury ST over Comb Merimac Riv/access

Carries HWY Amesbury ST over Comb Merimac Riv/access, At Merrimack River.

Overall conditionFair

Set by its lowest-rated component: Deck and Superstructure and Substructure at 5 of 9.

How ratings work
Decksets the rating5/9 · Fair
Superstructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Substructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Channelnot part of overall6/9 · Satisfactory
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT1,497 FT OVERALL250 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 5/9Superstructure 5/9Substructure 5/9

1,497 ft end to end, longest span 107 ft: about 4.2 football fields. 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 deck arch.

Built1918rebuilt 1982
Length1497.0 ft456.3 m
Daily traffic25,000counted 2021
Last inspectedSeptember 2023every 24 months

Location

StateMassachusetts
CountyEssex
LocationAt Merrimack River
CarriesHWY Amesbury ST
CrossesComb Merimac Riv/access
Coordinates42.70335, -71.16035

Physical Characteristics

MaterialConcrete
DesignArch - Deck
Total Length1497.0 ft (456.3 m)
Max Span107.0 ft (32.6 m)
Deck Width80.1 ft (24.4 m)
Deck Area11133.7 sq m
Main Spans7
Year Built1918 (reconstructed 1982)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic25,000 (2021)
Truck Traffic2%
Lanes On Bridge4

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionSeptember 2023
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerCity/Municipal Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical3 — Scour critical
Structure NumberL040022PTMUNNBI

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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