Structure 16501 · Butler County, IA

Ia 3 over W Fork Cedar River

Carries Ia 3 over W Fork Cedar River, 0.8 Mi. E Of Co. Rd. T16.

Overall conditionGood

Set by its lowest-rated component: Deck and Superstructure and Substructure at 8 of 9.

How ratings work
Decksets the rating8/9 · Very Good
Superstructuresets the rating8/9 · Very Good
Substructuresets the rating8/9 · Very Good
Channelnot part of overall9/9 · Excellent
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT500 FT OVERALL100 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 8/9Superstructure 8/9Substructure 8/9

500 ft end to end, longest span 112 ft: about 7 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.

Built20215 years old
Length499.7 ft152.3 m
Daily traffic1,080counted 2022
Last inspectedSeptember 2024every 24 months

Location

StateIowa
CountyButler
Location0.8 Mi. E Of Co. Rd. T16
CarriesIa 3
CrossesW Fork Cedar River
Coordinates42.74489, -92.94882

Physical Characteristics

MaterialPrestressed Concrete
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length499.7 ft (152.3 m)
Max Span111.9 ft (34.1 m)
Deck Width47.2 ft (14.4 m)
Deck Area2193.1 sq m
Main Spans5
Year Built2021

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic1,080 (2022)
Truck Traffic18%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionSeptember 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number000000000016501

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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