Structure CEPMROSD0000002 · Charles Mix County, SD

State Highway 281 over Ft. Randall Spillway

Carries State Highway 281 over Ft. Randall Spillway, 1 Mile West Of Pickstown.

Overall conditionFair

Set by its lowest-rated component: Substructure at 5 of 9.

How ratings work
Deck6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructure6/9 · Satisfactory
Substructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Channelnot part of overall8/9 · Very Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT1,029 FT OVERALL200 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9Superstructure 6/9Substructure 5/9 · sets the rating

1,029 ft end to end, longest span 43 ft: about 2.9 football fields. 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 girder bridge.

Built195670 years old
Length1028.9 ft313.6 m
Daily traffic954counted 2024
Last inspectedOctober 2024every 24 months

Location

StateSouth Dakota
CountyCharles Mix
Location1 Mile West Of Pickstown
CarriesState Highway 281
CrossesFt. Randall Spillway
Coordinates43.06831, -98.54801

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignGirder and Floorbeam
Total Length1028.9 ft (313.6 m)
Max Span42.7 ft (13 m)
Deck Width37.7 ft (11.5 m)
Deck Area3606.4 sq m
Main Spans21
Year Built1956

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic954 (2024)
Truck Traffic26%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionOctober 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerCorps of Engineers
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure NumberCEPMROSD0000002

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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