Structure CML · Carbon County, WY

Wyo 487 over Medicine Bow River

Carries Wyo 487 over Medicine Bow River, Medicine Bow.

Overall conditionFair

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

How ratings work
Decksets the rating6/9 · Satisfactory
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 FT173 FT OVERALL25 FT0ELEVATION · LENGTHS TO SCALE
Deck 6/9 · sets the ratingSuperstructure 7/9Substructure 6/9 · sets the rating

173 ft end to end, longest span 65 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 multi-beam bridge.

Built195967 years old
Length172.6 ft52.6 m
Daily traffic661counted 2024
Last inspectedJune 2024every 24 months

Location

StateWyoming
CountyCarbon
LocationMedicine Bow
CarriesWyo 487
CrossesMedicine Bow River
Coordinates41.90689, -106.20261

Physical Characteristics

MaterialSteel Continuous
DesignStringer/Multi-beam
Total Length172.6 ft (52.6 m)
Max Span65.0 ft (19.8 m)
Deck Width35.1 ft (10.7 m)
Deck Area562.8 sq m
Main Spans3
Year Built1959

Traffic

Avg Daily Traffic661 (2024)
Truck Traffic9%
Lanes On Bridge2

Inspection & Ownership

Last InspectionJune 2024
Inspection FrequencyEvery 24 months
OwnerState Highway Agency
Historical SignificanceHistorical significance is not determined
Scour Critical8 — Stable, low risk
Structure NumberCML

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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