Bells Mill Road
Carrying Bells Mill Road over Wissahickon Creek
SW of Germantown Ave16G02, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
Bells Mill Road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania sits above 25% of rated Pennsylvania bridges on inventory load rating (32 t), while its 1820 build year is earlier than 100% of Philadelphia's recorded-year cohort (584 bridges).
Bells Mill Road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1820, it carries 2 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:000000000039218
PRE-1950 · MAT-OTHER · MULTI-SPAN · TIED-CTRL · HEAVY-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- PRE-1950 Pre-1950
- MAT-OTHER Other
- MULTI-SPAN 2 spans
- TIED-CTRL Tied control
- HEAVY-ADT Heavy 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.
Bridge Snapshot: Bells Mill Road
The Bells Mill Road bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania carries Bells Mill Road over Wissahickon Creek. It was built in 1820, making it 206 years old today. The structure is built primarily of masonry and spans 2 sections, stretching 20.4 meters (67 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 12,200 vehicles, placing it in the heavily-trafficked tier of Pennsylvania bridges. It is owned and maintained by City/Municipal Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection records show 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 Bells Mill Road compares
Age against the county: built in 1820, earlier than 582 of Philadelphia's 584 bridges with a recorded construction year (100%), 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).
Bells Mill Road vs every rated Pennsylvania bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
32 Top 75% higher than 25% 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
- 1820
- Material
- Masonry
- Number of Spans
- 2
- Structure Length
- 20.4 m (67 ft)
- Deck Width
- 8.3 m (27 ft)
- Owner
- City/Municipal Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 12,200 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 000000000039218
Condition Analysis
- • 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
Bells Mill 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 Bells Mill Road 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 Bells Mill Road?
Bells Mill Road in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, superstructure rating of 4/9, and substructure rating of 4/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is Bells Mill Road inspected?
Bells Mill 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 12,200 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. Bells Mill 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 Bells Mill Road?
Bells Mill Road has an NBI inventory load rating of 31.8 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining Bells Mill Road?
Bells Mill Road is owned and maintained by City/Municipal Highway Agency.
How old is Bells Mill Road and does age affect safety?
Bells Mill Road was built in 1820, making it 206 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.