Structure 39 0009L · Merced County, CA

State Route 59 SB over Bear Creek

Carries State Route 59 SB over Bear Creek, 10-mer-059-15.23-mer.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Decksets the rating5/9 · Fair
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 FT251 FT OVERALL50 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 5/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 7/9Substructure 7/9

251 ft end to end, longest span 47 ft: about 3 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 tee-beam bridge.

Built194086 years old
Length250.7 ft76.4 m
Daily traffic14,000counted 2009
Last inspectedMay 2024every 24 months

Location

StateCalifornia
CountyMerced
Location10-mer-059-15.23-mer
CarriesState Route 59 SB
CrossesBear Creek
Coordinates37.30749, -120.50312

Physical Characteristics

MaterialConcrete Continuous
DesignTee Beam
Total Length250.7 ft (76.4 m)
Max Span46.9 ft (14.3 m)
Deck Width34.4 ft (10.5 m)
Deck Area802.2 sq m
Main Spans6
Year Built1940

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic14,000 (2009)
Truck Traffic10%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionMay 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical5 — Stable for scour
Structure Number39 0009L

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