PR 52 NORTHBOUND
Carrying PR 52 NORTHBOUND over PR 506 KM 1.5
4.8 KM W INT PR149 &, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
PR 52 NORTHBOUND in Ponce, Puerto Rico is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Built in 1970, 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 PR:010732
INTERSTATE-ERA · PRESTRESS · SINGLE-SPAN · DECK-LED · HEAVY-ADT · HEAVY-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- INTERSTATE-ERA 1950–1979
- PRESTRESS Prestressed concrete
- SINGLE-SPAN Single span
- DECK-LED Deck-led
- HEAVY-ADT Heavy 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.
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: PR 52 NORTHBOUND
The PR 52 NORTHBOUND bridge in Ponce, Puerto Rico carries PR 52 NORTHBOUND over PR 506 KM 1.5. It was built in 1970, making it 56 years old today. The structure is built primarily of prestressed concrete and spans 1 section, stretching 31.2 meters (102 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 28,150 vehicles, placing it in the heavily-trafficked tier of Puerto Rico bridges. It is owned and maintained by State 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 PR 52 NORTHBOUND compares
Age against the county: built in 1970, earlier than 93 of Ponce's 123 bridges with a recorded construction year (76%), against a county median build year of 1992. Age is not a defect on its own, but it is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn.
Live comparison across Puerto Rico bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (2,385 rated).
PR 52 NORTHBOUND vs every rated Puerto Rico bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
49 Top 29% higher than 71% of 2,385 bridges
rated Puerto Rico 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.
Ponce inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 123 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
- 1970
- Material
- Prestressed Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 1
- Structure Length
- 31.2 m (102 ft)
- Deck Width
- 14.3 m (47 ft)
- Owner
- State Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 28,150 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 010732
Condition Analysis
- • At 4/9, the deck (driving surface) is in poor shape, with advanced wear on file for this vintage.
- • The superstructure (beams and supports above the deck) rates good at 7/9, with no significant deterioration on file.
- • 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
PR 52 NORTHBOUND 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 PR 52 NORTHBOUND against other structures in Ponce and across Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico 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 PR 52 NORTHBOUND?
PR 52 NORTHBOUND in Ponce, Puerto Rico has a deck rating of 4/9, superstructure rating of 7/9, and substructure rating of 6/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is PR 52 NORTHBOUND inspected?
PR 52 NORTHBOUND'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 28,150 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. PR 52 NORTHBOUND 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 PR 52 NORTHBOUND?
PR 52 NORTHBOUND has an NBI inventory load rating of 48.6 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining PR 52 NORTHBOUND?
PR 52 NORTHBOUND is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
How old is PR 52 NORTHBOUND and does age affect safety?
PR 52 NORTHBOUND was built in 1970, making it 56 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.