PR 500
Carrying PR 500 over CA¥AS RIVER
2.0 KM WEST OF PONCE, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
PR 500 in Ponce, Puerto Rico sits above 26% of rated Puerto Rico bridges on inventory load rating (23 t), while its 1992 build year is earlier than 49% of Ponce's recorded-year cohort (123 bridges).
PR 500 in Ponce, Puerto Rico is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1992, 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:023211
LATE-CENTURY · PRESTRESS · SINGLE-SPAN · DECK-LED · HEAVY-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- LATE-CENTURY 1980–1999
- PRESTRESS Prestressed concrete
- SINGLE-SPAN Single span
- DECK-LED Deck-led
- 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.
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 500
The PR 500 bridge in Ponce, Puerto Rico carries PR 500 over CA¥AS RIVER. It was built in 1992, making it 34 years old today. The structure is built primarily of prestressed concrete and spans 1 section, stretching 41.3 meters (136 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 17,900 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). At least one major component here scores 4 or below, which produces a Poor condition classification under FHWA's current reporting rules.
How PR 500 compares
Age against the county: built in 1992, earlier than 60 of Ponce's 123 bridges with a recorded construction year (49%), against a county median build year of 1992.
Live comparison across Puerto Rico bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (2,385 rated).
PR 500 vs every rated Puerto Rico bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
23 Top 74% higher than 26% 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
- 1992
- Material
- Prestressed Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 1
- Structure Length
- 41.3 m (136 ft)
- Deck Width
- 21.8 m (72 ft)
- Owner
- State Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 17,900 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 023211
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) is in good condition (7/9), showing no significant deterioration.
- • 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
PR 500 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 500 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 500?
PR 500 in Ponce, Puerto Rico has a deck rating of 4/9, superstructure rating of 7/9, and substructure rating of 5/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is PR 500 inspected?
PR 500'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 17,900 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. PR 500 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 500?
PR 500 has an NBI inventory load rating of 22.7 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining PR 500?
PR 500 is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
How old is PR 500 and does age affect safety?
PR 500 was built in 1992, making it 34 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.