BUCKLEY HILL ROAD
Carrying BUCKLEY HILL ROAD over FRENCH RIVER
0.1 MI SOUTH OF ROUTE 12, Unknown County, Connecticut
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD in Unknown County, Connecticut sits above 13% of rated Connecticut bridges on inventory load rating (29 t), while its 1937 build year is earlier than 79% of Unknown County's recorded-year cohort (267 bridges).
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD in Unknown County, Connecticut is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1937, it carries 3 rated components on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, and its weakest reported component scores 4. The lowest applicable rating sets the federal condition category, so this Poor 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 CT:03949
PRE-1950 · STEEL · SINGLE-SPAN · TIED-CTRL · ARTERIAL-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- PRE-1950 Pre-1950
- STEEL Steel
- SINGLE-SPAN Single span
- TIED-CTRL Tied control
- ARTERIAL-ADT Arterial ADT
- STANDARD-LOAD Standard load
- CAT-POOR Poor
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: BUCKLEY HILL ROAD
The BUCKLEY HILL ROAD bridge in Unknown County, Connecticut carries BUCKLEY HILL ROAD over FRENCH RIVER. It was built in 1937, making it 89 years old today. The structure is built primarily of steel and spans 1 section, stretching 20.4 meters (67 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 1,900 vehicles, placing it in the moderately-trafficked tier of Connecticut bridges. It is owned and maintained by Town/Township Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection places the weakest component in poor condition (see the full component ratings below). A component scored 4 or below, placing this bridge in the federal Poor condition category rather than declaring it unsafe or closed.
How BUCKLEY HILL ROAD compares
Age against the county: built in 1937, earlier than 212 of Unknown County's 267 bridges with a recorded construction year (79%), against a county median build year of 1962. Age is not a defect on its own, but it is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn.
Live comparison across Connecticut bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (4,365 rated).
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD vs every rated Connecticut bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
29 Top 87% higher than 13% of 4,365 bridges
rated Connecticut 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.
Unknown County inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 267 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
- 1937
- Material
- Steel
- Number of Spans
- 1
- Structure Length
- 20.4 m (67 ft)
- Deck Width
- 8.6 m (28 ft)
- Owner
- Town/Township Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 1,900 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 03949
Condition Analysis
- • The deck (driving surface) is in poor condition (4/9), showing advanced deterioration on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale.
- • At 4/9, the superstructure (beams and supports above the deck) is in poor shape, with advanced wear on file for this vintage.
- • At 6/9, 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
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD is in the federal Poor condition category. That is a component-based result, not a closure order.
- NBI condition ratings reflect the latest record in this annual dataset, not a live status. Current routine inspection intervals are risk-based.
- Understand what Poor condition does and does not mean before drawing conclusions. Poor condition explained
- Compare BUCKLEY HILL ROAD against other structures in Unknown County and across Connecticut. Connecticut 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 BUCKLEY HILL ROAD?
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD in Unknown County, Connecticut has a deck rating of 4/9, superstructure rating of 4/9, and substructure rating of 6/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is BUCKLEY HILL ROAD inspected?
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD'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 1,900 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. BUCKLEY HILL ROAD is currently shown as Poor condition from its component ratings; that category is not a live closure or safety decision.
What is the inventory load rating for BUCKLEY HILL ROAD?
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD has an NBI inventory load rating of 29.4 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining BUCKLEY HILL ROAD?
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD is owned and maintained by Town/Township Highway Agency.
How old is BUCKLEY HILL ROAD and does age affect safety?
BUCKLEY HILL ROAD was built in 1937, making it 89 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.