By Ken Blake
Locations of the 22 Rutherford County bridges that inspectors judged structurally deficient in 2015. Tap or click a dot to learn the year the bridge was built, the average number of vehicles that cross the bridge per day, and ratings of the bridge’s key components.
Each bridge’s “Sufficiency Rating” indicates the bridge’s sufficiency to remain in service. Sufficiency rating scores range from zero to 100 percent, with zero percent indicating an entirely insufficient bridge, and a 100 percent indicating an entirely sufficient bridge. Additionally, each bridge’s deck, superstructure and substructure receive a rating on this scale:
9: Excellent
8: Very good
7: Good
6: Satisfactory
5: Fair
4: Poor
3: Serious
2: Critical
1: Imminent failure
0: Failed
Any channels or culverts that carry water through the bridge are rated on a similar 0-9 scale, with ratings of 5 or lower indicating problems deemed “major” or worse.
Source: National Bridge Inventory data, U.S. Federal Highway Administration.