Structure 5G000000991830 · Swain County, NC

Reservation Road over Fontana Dam Spillway

Carries Reservation Road over Fontana Dam Spillway, On Fontana Dam.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Decksets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructuresets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Substructuresets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT255 FT OVERALL50 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9Superstructure 6/9Substructure 6/9

255 ft end to end, longest span 50 ft: about 4 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 slab bridge.

Built194680 years old
Length254.9 ft77.7 m
Daily traffic390counted 2021
Last inspectedMarch 2024every 24 months

Location

StateNorth Carolina
CountySwain
LocationOn Fontana Dam
CarriesReservation Road
CrossesFontana Dam Spillway
Coordinates35.45167, -83.80167

Physical Characteristics

MaterialConcrete
DesignSlab
Total Length254.9 ft (77.7 m)
Max Span49.9 ft (15.2 m)
Deck Width32.2 ft (9.8 m)
Deck Area761.5 sq m
Main Spans4
Year Built1946

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic390 (2021)
Truck Traffic1%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionMarch 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerCode 67
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical5 — Stable for scour
Structure Number05G000000991830

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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