Structure 12301710010500 · Merrimack County, NH

Shop Road over Needle Shop Brook

Carries Shop Road over Needle Shop Brook, 0.8 Mi N New Chester RD.

Overall conditionPoor

Set by its lowest-rated component: Superstructure at 1 of 9.

How ratings work
Deck5/9 · Fair
Superstructuresets the rating1/9 · Imminent Failure
Substructure5/9 · Fair
Channelnot part of overall6/9 · Satisfactory
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
CAR · 15 FT35 FT OVERALL25 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 5/9Superstructure 1/9 · sets the ratingSubstructure 5/9

35 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.

Built193096 years old
Length35.1 ft10.7 m
Daily traffic64counted 2023
Last inspectedJuly 2024every 16 months

Location

StateNew Hampshire
CountyMerrimack
Location0.8 Mi N New Chester RD
CarriesShop Road
CrossesNeedle Shop Brook
Coordinates43.52711, -71.70139

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length35.1 ft (10.7 m)
Max Span33.1 ft (10.1 m)
Deck Width12.1 ft (3.7 m)
Deck Area39.6 sq m
Main Spans1
Year Built1930

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic64 (2023)
Truck Traffic4%
Lanes On Bridge1

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionJuly 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 16 months
OwnerCity/Municipal Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is possibly eligible (requires evaluation)
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number012301710010500

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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