Structure 120850050001374 · Galveston County, TX

IH 45 SB over Galveston Bay

Carries IH 45 SB over Galveston Bay, 3.70 Mi SE Of SH 6.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Deck7/9 · Good
Superstructure7/9 · Good
Substructuresets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Channelnot part of overall8/9 · Very Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
8,592 FT OVERALL1,000 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 7/9Superstructure 7/9Substructure 6/9 · sets the rating

8,592 ft end to end, longest span 350 ft: about 24 football fields, or 1.6 miles. Lengths are drawn to scale; at this length a semi-truck would be a speck. 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 segmental box-girder bridge.

Built200719 years old
Length8591.9 ft2618.8 m
Daily traffic384counted 2024
Last inspectedSeptember 2024every 24 months

Location

StateTexas
CountyGalveston
Location3.70 Mi SE Of SH 6
CarriesIH 45 SB
CrossesGalveston Bay
Coordinates29.29722, -94.88940

Physical Characteristics

MaterialPrestressed Concrete Continuous
DesignSegmental Box Girder
Total Length8591.9 ft (2618.8 m)
Max Span350.1 ft (106.7 m)
Deck Width74.1 ft (22.6 m)
Deck Area59184.9 sq m
Main Spans3
Year Built2007

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic384 (2024)
Truck Traffic4%
Lanes On Bridge4

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 Number120850050001374

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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