Cherokee Street
Carrying Cherokee Street over Valley Green Road
W of Springfield Ave16J05, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
Cherokee Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania sits above 99% of rated Pennsylvania bridges on inventory load rating (100 t), while its 1960 build year is earlier than 52% of Philadelphia's recorded-year cohort (584 bridges).
Cherokee Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1960, 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 PA:000000000039143
INTERSTATE-ERA · PRESTRESS · LONG-SPAN-RUN · TIED-CTRL · ARTERIAL-ADT · HEAVY-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- INTERSTATE-ERA 1950–1979
- PRESTRESS Prestressed concrete
- LONG-SPAN-RUN 4 spans
- TIED-CTRL Tied control
- ARTERIAL-ADT Arterial ADT
- HEAVY-LOAD Heavy 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.
Bridge Snapshot: Cherokee Street
The Cherokee Street bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania carries Cherokee Street over Valley Green Road. It was built in 1960, making it 66 years old today. The structure is built primarily of prestressed concrete and spans 4 sections, stretching 67.1 meters (220 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 3,100 vehicles, placing it in the moderately-trafficked tier of Pennsylvania bridges. It is owned and maintained by City/Municipal Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection records show a deck rating of 6/9, superstructure at 4/9, substructure at 4/9. The weakest component sits in poor condition. At least one major component here scores 4 or below, which produces a Poor condition classification under FHWA's current reporting rules.
How Cherokee Street compares
Age against the county: built in 1960, earlier than 305 of Philadelphia's 584 bridges with a recorded construction year (52%), against a county median build year of 1964. Age is not a defect on its own, but it is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn.
Live comparison across Pennsylvania bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (23,297 of 23,299 rated).
Cherokee Street vs every rated Pennsylvania bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
100 Top 1% higher than 99% of 23,297 bridges
rated Pennsylvania 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.
Philadelphia inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 585 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
- 1960
- Material
- Prestressed Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 4
- Structure Length
- 67.1 m (220 ft)
- Deck Width
- 14.8 m (49 ft)
- Owner
- City/Municipal Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 3,100 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 000000000039143
Condition Analysis
- • The deck (driving surface) is in fair condition (6/9), with minor deterioration that may require routine maintenance.
- • 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 poor condition (4/9), showing advanced deterioration on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale.
Location
Data Source
FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
FHWA NBI Program ↗How to read this record
Cherokee Street 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 Cherokee Street against other structures in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania 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 Cherokee Street?
Cherokee Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a deck rating of 6/9, superstructure rating of 4/9, and substructure rating of 4/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is Cherokee Street inspected?
Cherokee Street'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 3,100 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. Cherokee Street 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 Cherokee Street?
Cherokee Street has an NBI inventory load rating of 99.8 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining Cherokee Street?
Cherokee Street is owned and maintained by City/Municipal Highway Agency.
How old is Cherokee Street and does age affect safety?
Cherokee Street was built in 1960, making it 66 years old.
Disclaimer: Bridge condition data is from the FHWA NBI and reflects the last reported inspection. A Poor condition rating is not a live declaration that a bridge is closed or unsafe for travel. For current closure, posting, or safety information, contact the responsible transportation agency.
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.