Structure 24 0003 · Sacramento County, CA

State Route 51 over American River

Carries State Route 51 over American River, 03-sac-051-2.61-sac.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Decksets the rating5/9 · Fair
Superstructure7/9 · Good
Substructure6/9 · Satisfactory
Channelnot part of overall6/9 · Satisfactory
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT1,890 FT OVERALL250 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 5/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 7/9Substructure 6/9

1,890 ft end to end, longest span 125 ft: about 5.2 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 multi-beam bridge.

Built1954rebuilt 1966
Length1889.8 ft576 m
Daily traffic160,000counted 2010
Last inspectedNovember 2023every 24 months

Location

StateCalifornia
CountySacramento
Location03-sac-051-2.61-sac
CarriesState Route 51
CrossesAmerican River
Coordinates38.58673, -121.44777

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length1889.8 ft (576 m)
Max Span125.0 ft (38.1 m)
Deck Width94.2 ft (28.7 m)
Deck Area16531.2 sq m
Main Spans8
Year Built1954 (reconstructed 1966)

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic160,000 (2010)
Truck Traffic6%
Lanes On Bridge6

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionNovember 2023
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical5 — Stable for scour
Structure Number24 0003

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.

Nearby Bridges