ST. ELMO STREET
Carrying ST. ELMO STREET over CEDAR CREEK
SE OF MUHLENBERG COLLEGE, Lehigh, Pennsylvania
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
ST. ELMO STREET in Lehigh, Pennsylvania sits above 23% of rated Pennsylvania bridges on inventory load rating (31 t), while its 1983 build year is earlier than 35% of Lehigh's recorded-year cohort (381 bridges).
ST. ELMO STREET in Lehigh, Pennsylvania is rated Fair in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1983, it carries 1 rated component on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, and its weakest reported component scores 5. 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 PA:000000000047412
LATE-CENTURY · CONCRETE · MULTI-SPAN · CULVERT-LED · LOCAL-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-FAIR
- LATE-CENTURY 1980–1999
- CONCRETE Concrete
- MULTI-SPAN 2 spans
- CULVERT-LED Culvert-led
- LOCAL-ADT Local ADT
- STANDARD-LOAD Standard 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.
Bridge Snapshot: ST. ELMO STREET
The ST. ELMO STREET bridge in Lehigh, Pennsylvania carries ST. ELMO STREET over CEDAR CREEK. It was built in 1983, making it 43 years old today. The structure is built primarily of concrete and spans 2 sections, stretching 6.7 meters (22 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 500 vehicles, placing it in the lower-traffic tier of Pennsylvania bridges. It is owned and maintained by City/Municipal Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection records show culvert at 5/9. The weakest component sits in fair condition. No reported major component scores in the Poor range under the current federal condition thresholds.
How ST. ELMO STREET compares
Age against the county: built in 1983, earlier than 133 of Lehigh's 381 bridges with a recorded construction year (35%), against a county median build year of 1961. This is one of the newer structures in its county.
Live comparison across Pennsylvania bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (23,297 of 23,299 rated).
ST. ELMO STREET vs every rated Pennsylvania bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
31 Top 77% higher than 23% 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.
Lehigh inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 381 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
- 1983
- Material
- Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 2
- Structure Length
- 6.7 m (22 ft)
- Deck Width
- 9.8 m (32 ft)
- Owner
- City/Municipal Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 500 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 000000000047412
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 ST. ELMO STREET 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 ST. ELMO STREET against other structures in Lehigh 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 ST. ELMO STREET?
ST. ELMO STREET in Lehigh, Pennsylvania on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is ST. ELMO STREET inspected?
ST. ELMO 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 500 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. ST. ELMO STREET 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 ST. ELMO STREET?
ST. ELMO STREET has an NBI inventory load rating of 30.8 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining ST. ELMO STREET?
ST. ELMO STREET is owned and maintained by City/Municipal Highway Agency.
How old is ST. ELMO STREET and does age affect safety?
ST. ELMO STREET was built in 1983, making it 43 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.