SR 255
Carrying SR 255 over NORFOLK SOUTHERN
0.1 MI N JCT I565 * SR255, Madison, Alabama
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
SR 255 in Madison, Alabama sits above 80% of rated Alabama bridges on inventory load rating (48 t), while its 1968 build year is earlier than 52% of Madison's recorded-year cohort (710 bridges).
SR 255 in Madison, Alabama is rated Fair in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1968, it carries 3 rated components on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, and its weakest reported component scores 6. 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:015033
INTERSTATE-ERA · STEEL · LONG-SPAN-RUN · TIED-CTRL · HEAVY-ADT · HEAVY-LOAD · CAT-FAIR
- INTERSTATE-ERA 1950–1979
- STEEL Steel
- LONG-SPAN-RUN 4 spans
- TIED-CTRL Tied control
- HEAVY-ADT Heavy ADT
- HEAVY-LOAD Heavy 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: SR 255
The SR 255 bridge in Madison, Alabama carries SR 255 over NORFOLK SOUTHERN. It was built in 1968, making it 58 years old today. It was last reconstructed in 1990, extending its service life. The structure is built primarily of steel and spans 4 sections, stretching 87.8 meters (288 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 34,608 vehicles, placing it in the heavily-trafficked tier of Alabama bridges. It is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection places the weakest component in fair condition (see the full component ratings below). None of this bridge's reported major components fall into the Poor condition range.
How SR 255 compares
Age against the county: built in 1968, earlier than 370 of Madison's 710 bridges with a recorded construction year (52%), 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).
SR 255 vs every rated Alabama bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
48 Top 20% higher than 80% 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
- 1968
- Last Reconstructed
- 1990
- Material
- Steel
- Number of Spans
- 4
- Structure Length
- 87.8 m (288 ft)
- Deck Width
- 17.3 m (57 ft)
- Owner
- State Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 34,608 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 015033
Condition Analysis
- • The deck (driving surface) rates fair at 6/9, minor deterioration that routine maintenance should address.
- • At 6/9, the superstructure (beams and supports above the deck) shows fair condition, with minor wear flagged for upkeep.
- • The substructure (piers and abutments) rates fair at 6/9, minor deterioration that routine maintenance should address.
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 SR 255 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 SR 255 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 SR 255?
SR 255 in Madison, Alabama has a deck rating of 6/9, superstructure rating of 6/9, and substructure rating of 6/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is SR 255 inspected?
SR 255'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 34,608 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. SR 255 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 SR 255?
SR 255 has an NBI inventory load rating of 47.7 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining SR 255?
SR 255 is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
How old is SR 255 and does age affect safety?
SR 255 was built in 1968, making it 58 years old and last reconstructed in 1990.
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.