Structure 121020050003107 · Harris County, TX

IH 45 NB over IH 45 NB Houston Exit

Carries IH 45 NB over IH 45 NB Houston Exit, 0.30 Mi N Of Dallas ST.

Overall conditionGood

Set by its lowest-rated component: Deck and Superstructure and Substructure at 7 of 9.

How ratings work
Decksets the rating7/9 · Good
Superstructuresets the rating7/9 · Good
Substructuresets the rating7/9 · Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
CAR · 15 FT76 FT OVERALL25 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 7/9Superstructure 7/9Substructure 7/9

76 ft end to end. Lengths and the car 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.

Built196264 years old
Length76.1 ft23.2 m
Daily traffic—reported figure implausible
Last inspectedSeptember 2024every 24 months

Location

StateTexas
CountyHarris
Location0.30 Mi N Of Dallas ST
CarriesIH 45 NB
CrossesIH 45 NB Houston Exit
Coordinates29.76221, -95.37224

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length76.1 ft (23.2 m)
Max Span75.1 ft (22.9 m)
Deck Width42.0 ft (12.8 m)
Deck Area297.0 sq m
Main Spans1
Year Built1962

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic230,232 (2019)
That is about 76,744 vehicles per lane per day — beyond what any U.S. road carries (the busiest freeways run about 25,000–30,000). It is almost certainly a data-entry error in the National Bridge Inventory, so we leave this bridge out of traffic rankings.
Truck Traffic7%
Lanes On Bridge3
Lanes Under Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionSeptember 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is possibly eligible (requires evaluation)
Scour CriticalNot applicable
Structure Number121020050003107

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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