SH 256
Carrying SH 256 over WET SALT CREEK
3.077MI E HALL CL, Childress, Texas
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
SH 256 in Childress, Texas sits above 48% of rated Texas bridges on inventory load rating (29 t), while its 1939 build year is earlier than 78% of Childress's recorded-year cohort (91 bridges).
SH 256 in Childress, Texas is rated Fair in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1939, it carries 3 rated components on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, and its weakest reported component scores 6. 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 TX:250380038103005
PRE-1950 · STEEL · LONG-SPAN-RUN · TIED-CTRL · ARTERIAL-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-FAIR
- PRE-1950 Pre-1950
- STEEL Steel
- LONG-SPAN-RUN 4 spans
- TIED-CTRL Tied control
- ARTERIAL-ADT Arterial 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.
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: SH 256
The SH 256 bridge in Childress, Texas carries SH 256 over WET SALT CREEK. It was built in 1939, making it 87 years old today. It was last reconstructed in 1979, extending its service life. The structure is built primarily of steel and spans 4 sections, stretching 42.7 meters (140 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 1,770 vehicles, placing it in the moderately-trafficked tier of Texas bridges. It is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection places the weakest component in fair condition (see the full component ratings below). None of this bridge's reported major components fall into the Poor condition range.
How SH 256 compares
Age against the county: built in 1939, earlier than 71 of Childress's 91 bridges with a recorded construction year (78%), against a county median build year of 1957. Age is not a defect on its own, but it is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn.
Live comparison across Texas bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (56,715 of 56,729 rated).
SH 256 vs every rated Texas bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
29 Top 52% higher than 48% of 56,715 bridges
rated Texas 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.
Childress inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 91 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
- 1939
- Last Reconstructed
- 1979
- Material
- Steel
- Number of Spans
- 4
- Structure Length
- 42.7 m (140 ft)
- Deck Width
- 12.9 m (42 ft)
- Owner
- State Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 1,770 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 250380038103005
Condition Analysis
- • The deck (driving surface) is in good condition (7/9), showing no significant deterioration.
- • The superstructure (beams and supports above the deck) is in fair condition (6/9), with minor deterioration that may require routine maintenance.
- • The substructure (piers and abutments) is in fair condition (6/9), with minor deterioration that may require routine maintenance.
Location
Data Source
FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
FHWA NBI Program ↗How to read this record
This page shows what the last federal inspection recorded, not whether SH 256 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 SH 256 against other structures in Childress and across Texas. Texas 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 SH 256?
SH 256 in Childress, Texas has a deck rating of 7/9, superstructure rating of 6/9, and substructure rating of 6/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is SH 256 inspected?
SH 256'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 1,770 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. SH 256 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 SH 256?
SH 256 has an NBI inventory load rating of 29.0 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining SH 256?
SH 256 is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
How old is SH 256 and does age affect safety?
SH 256 was built in 1939, making it 87 years old and last reconstructed in 1979.
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.