Structure 121020050801295 · Harris County, TX

US 59 NB Ih10 WB over Buffalo Bayou Ih10 Us59

Carries US 59 NB Ih10 WB over Buffalo Bayou Ih10 Us59, Us59 Ih10 Interchange.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Deck7/9 · Good
Superstructure7/9 · Good
Substructuresets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
Channelnot part of overall6/9 · Satisfactory
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT2,866 FT OVERALL500 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 7/9Superstructure 7/9Substructure 6/9 · sets the rating

2,866 ft end to end, longest span 250 ft: about 8.0 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 box-beam bridge.

Built200224 years old
Length2866.1 ft873.6 m
Daily traffic—reported figure implausible
Last inspectedSeptember 2024every 24 months

Location

StateTexas
CountyHarris
LocationUs59 Ih10 Interchange
CarriesUS 59 NB Ih10 WB
CrossesBuffalo Bayou Ih10 Us59
Coordinates29.76877, -95.34480

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel Continuous
DesignBox Beam - Multiple
Total Length2866.1 ft (873.6 m)
Max Span250.0 ft (76.2 m)
Deck Width32.8 ft (10 m)
Deck Area8,736 sq m
Main Spans13
Year Built2002

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic86,000 (2010)
That is about 86,000 vehicles per lane per day — beyond what any U.S. road carries (the busiest freeways run about 25,000–30,000). It is almost certainly a data-entry error in the National Bridge Inventory, so we leave this bridge out of traffic rankings.
Lanes On Bridge1
Lanes Under Bridge25

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionSeptember 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is not eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number121020050801295

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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