CH 54
Carrying CH 54 over TOWER CR
1.5 MI W OF MOMENCE, Kankakee, Illinois
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
CH 54 in Kankakee, Illinois sits above 22% of rated Illinois bridges on inventory load rating (31 t), while its 1975 build year is earlier than 66% of Kankakee's recorded-year cohort (344 bridges).
CH 54 in Kankakee, Illinois is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1975, 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 IL:046331100000000
INTERSTATE-ERA · CONCRETE · MULTI-SPAN · TIED-CTRL · ARTERIAL-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- INTERSTATE-ERA 1950–1979
- CONCRETE Concrete
- MULTI-SPAN 3 spans
- 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: CH 54
The CH 54 bridge in Kankakee, Illinois carries CH 54 over TOWER CR. It was built in 1975, making it 51 years old today. The structure is built primarily of concrete and spans 3 sections, stretching 25.3 meters (83 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 3,050 vehicles, placing it in the moderately-trafficked tier of Illinois bridges. It is owned and maintained by County 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 CH 54 compares
Age against the county: built in 1975, earlier than 226 of Kankakee's 344 bridges with a recorded construction year (66%), against a county median build year of 1981. Age is not a defect on its own, but it is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn.
Live comparison across Illinois bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (26,904 of 26,928 rated).
CH 54 vs every rated Illinois bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
31 Top 78% higher than 22% of 26,904 bridges
rated Illinois 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.
Kankakee inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 344 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
- 1975
- Material
- Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 3
- Structure Length
- 25.3 m (83 ft)
- Deck Width
- 8.1 m (27 ft)
- Owner
- County Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 3,050 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 046331100000000
Condition Analysis
- • The deck (driving surface) rates poor at 4/9, with advanced deterioration recorded on the latest inspection.
- • At 4/9, the superstructure (beams and supports above the deck) is in poor shape, with advanced wear on file for this vintage.
- • The substructure (piers and abutments) is in fair condition (5/9), with minor deterioration that may require routine maintenance.
Location
Data Source
FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
FHWA NBI Program ↗How to read this record
CH 54 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 CH 54 against other structures in Kankakee and across Illinois. Illinois 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 CH 54?
CH 54 in Kankakee, Illinois has a deck rating of 4/9, superstructure rating of 4/9, and substructure rating of 5/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is CH 54 inspected?
CH 54'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 3,050 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. CH 54 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 CH 54?
CH 54 has an NBI inventory load rating of 31.1 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining CH 54?
CH 54 is owned and maintained by County Highway Agency.
How old is CH 54 and does age affect safety?
CH 54 was built in 1975, making it 51 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.