BIG COVE RD
Carrying BIG COVE RD over FLINT RIVER
1.2 MI W OLD US 431 HWY, Madison, Alabama
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
BIG COVE RD in Madison, Alabama sits above 19% of rated Alabama bridges on inventory load rating (24 t), while its 1964 build year is earlier than 59% of Madison's recorded-year cohort (710 bridges).
BIG COVE RD in Madison, Alabama is rated Fair in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1964, it carries 3 rated components on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, and its weakest reported component scores 5. The lowest applicable rating sets the federal condition category, so this Fair result describes the weakest reported component rather than the structure as a whole. No NBI category is a closure decision or a live crossing-safety verdict.
NBI record plate
Structure AL:008454
INTERSTATE-ERA · CONCRETE · LONG-SPAN-RUN · TIED-CTRL · LOCAL-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-FAIR
- INTERSTATE-ERA 1950–1979
- CONCRETE Concrete
- LONG-SPAN-RUN 6 spans
- TIED-CTRL Tied control
- LOCAL-ADT Local ADT
- STANDARD-LOAD Standard load
- CAT-FAIR Fair
Inspection-sheet codes from this record’s year, material family, spans, controlling component, ADT, inventory load, and NBI category, not a live closure verdict.
Structural health score
A composite of the deck, superstructure, and substructure NBI condition ratings plus the inventory load rating, benchmarked against the full national bridge corpus, distinct from the Good/Fair/Poor category above.
Bridge Snapshot: BIG COVE RD
The BIG COVE RD bridge in Madison, Alabama carries BIG COVE RD over FLINT RIVER. It was built in 1964, making it 62 years old today. The structure is built primarily of concrete and spans 6 sections, stretching 62.2 meters (204 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 525 vehicles, placing it in the lower-traffic tier of Alabama bridges. It is owned and maintained by County Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection places the weakest component in fair condition (see the full component ratings below). All reported major components score above the Poor range.
How BIG COVE RD compares
Age against the county: built in 1964, earlier than 417 of Madison's 710 bridges with a recorded construction year (59%), against a county median build year of 1970. Age is not a defect on its own, but it is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn.
Live comparison across Alabama bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (16,191 of 16,205 rated).
BIG COVE RD vs every rated Alabama bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
24 Top 81% higher than 19% of 16,191 bridges
rated Alabama bridges, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more bridges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FHWA National Bridge Inventory · August 2026
Condition Ratings
Full 0–9 scale + sufficiency-rating breakdown: how condition ratings work.
Reported 0–9 component ratings from the FHWA NBI. The highlighted component is the lowest reported input to this record’s current condition category; it is not a closure or live crossing-safety decision.
Madison inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 710 bridges in this county. Orthogonal to this structure's component profile above: a county catalog share, not a live crossing-safety verdict.
Structural Details
- Year Built
- 1964
- Material
- Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 6
- Structure Length
- 62.2 m (204 ft)
- Deck Width
- 8.9 m (29 ft)
- Owner
- County Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 525 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 008454
Condition Analysis
- • The deck (driving surface) is in fair condition (5/9), with minor deterioration that may require routine maintenance.
- • The superstructure (beams and supports above the deck) is in fair condition (5/9), with minor deterioration that may require routine maintenance.
- • At 5/9, the substructure (piers and abutments) shows fair condition, with minor wear flagged for upkeep.
Location
Data Source
FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
FHWA NBI Program ↗How to read this record
This page shows what the last federal inspection recorded, not whether BIG COVE RD is safe to cross today. Here is how to use it.
- NBI condition ratings reflect the latest record in this annual dataset, not a live status. Current routine inspection intervals are risk-based.
- Learn how the 0–9 condition scale and Good/Fair/Poor categories are defined. How condition ratings work
- Compare BIG COVE RD against other structures in Madison and across Alabama. Alabama bridges
- Noticed visible damage or a safety concern? Report it to the agency that owns the bridge, or call 911 in an emergency. How to report a bridge
Condition codes come straight from the FHWA National Bridge Inventory and are not a real-time safety judgment. Only the owning agency, a state DOT, county, or other owner, can post, restrict, or close a bridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do the condition ratings mean for BIG COVE RD?
BIG COVE RD in Madison, Alabama has a deck rating of 5/9, superstructure rating of 5/9, and substructure rating of 5/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is BIG COVE RD inspected?
BIG COVE RD's responsible agency sets its routine interval under FHWA's risk-based inspection rules; this page does not expose the scheduled interval. It carries about 525 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. BIG COVE RD is currently shown as Fair condition from its component ratings; that category is not a live closure or safety decision.
What is the inventory load rating for BIG COVE RD?
BIG COVE RD has an NBI inventory load rating of 23.8 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining BIG COVE RD?
BIG COVE RD is owned and maintained by County Highway Agency.
How old is BIG COVE RD and does age affect safety?
BIG COVE RD was built in 1964, making it 62 years old.
Share this inspection record
Send this source-bounded record or download its data card. An NBI condition category is not a closure or live crossing-safety verdict.
Every figure on PlainBridges is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Component ratings, ADT, and condition category on this page are copied from the NBI record for this structure; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024 NBI release. NBI condition categories reflect the latest reported inventory record, not a live safety, closure, or travel decision.