Structure 50 0279 · Kern County, CA

State Route 178 over Kern River

Carries State Route 178 over Kern River, 06-ker-178-r38.84.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Decksets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructure7/9 · Good
Substructure7/9 · Good
Channelnot part of overall8/9 · Very Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT470 FT OVERALL100 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 7/9Substructure 7/9

470 ft end to end, longest span 200 ft: about 7 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 multi-beam bridge.

Built196858 years old
Length470.1 ft143.3 m
Daily traffic3,900counted 2009
Last inspectedDecember 2024every 24 months

Location

StateCalifornia
CountyKern
Location06-ker-178-r38.84
CarriesState Route 178
CrossesKern River
Coordinates35.58780, -118.52643

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel Continuous
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length470.1 ft (143.3 m)
Max Span200.1 ft (61 m)
Deck Width62.0 ft (18.9 m)
Deck Area2708.4 sq m
Main Spans3
Year Built1968

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic3,900 (2009)
Lanes On Bridge4

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionDecember 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical5 — Stable for scour
Structure Number50 0279

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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