Structure 3501170013500 · Grafton County, NH

US 3 over West Branch Brook

Carries US 3 over West Branch Brook, 0.6 Mi From Thornton Tl.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Deck6/9 · Satisfactory
Superstructuresets the rating5/9 · Fair
Substructure6/9 · Satisfactory
Channelnot part of overall7/9 · Good
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
CAR · 15 FT91 FT OVERALL25 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9Superstructure 5/9 · sets the ratingSubstructure 6/9

91 ft end to end. Lengths and the car 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.

Built192799 years old
Length90.9 ft27.7 m
Daily traffic1,054counted 2023
Last inspectedAugust 2023every 24 months

Location

StateNew Hampshire
CountyGrafton
Location0.6 Mi From Thornton Tl
CarriesUS 3
CrossesWest Branch Brook
Coordinates43.85138, -71.66690

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel
DesignGirder and Floorbeam
Total Length90.9 ft (27.7 m)
Max Span85.0 ft (25.9 m)
Deck Width26.6 ft (8.1 m)
Deck Area224.4 sq m
Main Spans1
Year Built1927

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic1,054 (2023)
Truck Traffic4%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionAugust 2023
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is possibly eligible (requires evaluation)
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number003501170013500

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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