Structure 15500540006500 · Merrimack County, NH

Wales Bridge Road over Soucook River

Carries Wales Bridge Road over Soucook River, 1.3 Mi From Concord Tl.

Overall conditionPoor

Set by its lowest-rated component: Deck and Superstructure at 4 of 9.

How ratings work
Decksets the rating4/9 · Poor
Superstructuresets the rating4/9 · Poor
Substructure6/9 · Satisfactory
Channelnot part of overall6/9 · Satisfactory
0 failed4 poor6 fair9 excellent

Elevation

Side view, colored by inspection rating
SEMI-TRUCK · 72 FT146 FT OVERALL25 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 4/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 4/9 · sets the ratingSubstructure 6/9

146 ft end to end, longest span 56 ft: about 2 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 rigid-frame bridge.

Built193492 years old
Length146.0 ft44.5 m
Daily traffic372counted 2023
Last inspectedNovember 2024every 16 months

Location

StateNew Hampshire
CountyMerrimack
Location1.3 Mi From Concord Tl
CarriesWales Bridge Road
CrossesSoucook River
Coordinates43.26965, -71.46108

Physical Characteristics

MaterialConcrete
DesignFrame
Total Length146.0 ft (44.5 m)
Max Span56.1 ft (17.1 m)
Deck Width28.9 ft (8.8 m)
Deck Area391.6 sq m
Main Spans3
Year Built1934

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic372 (2023)
Truck Traffic4%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionNovember 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 16 months
OwnerCity/Municipal Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceBridge is eligible for the National Register
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure Number015500540006500

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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