Structure 51 0128 · Santa Barbara County, CA

State Route 246 over Santa Ynez River

Carries State Route 246 over Santa Ynez River, 05-sb-246-9.82.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Decksets the rating5/9 · Fair
Superstructure8/9 · Very Good
Substructure7/9 · Good
Channelnot part of overall6/9 · Satisfactory
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT447 FT OVERALL50 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 5/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 8/9Substructure 7/9

447 ft end to end, longest span 81 ft: about 6 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.

Built193987 years old
Length446.9 ft136.2 m
Daily traffic8,500counted 2009
Last inspectedJuly 2023every 24 months

Location

StateCalifornia
CountySanta Barbara
Location05-sb-246-9.82
CarriesState Route 246
CrossesSanta Ynez River
Coordinates34.64348, -120.43201

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel Continuous
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length446.9 ft (136.2 m)
Max Span81.0 ft (24.7 m)
Deck Width30.5 ft (9.3 m)
Deck Area1266.7 sq m
Main Spans7
Year Built1939

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic8,500 (2009)
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionJuly 2023
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical3 — Scour critical
Structure Number51 0128

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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