21ST. STREET
Carrying 21ST. STREET over ROUTE I-66
00.15FR29/00.04TON.CT HSE, Arlington, Virginia
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
21ST. STREET in Arlington, Virginia sits above 87% of rated Virginia bridges on inventory load rating (69 t), while its 1980 build year is earlier than 30% of Arlington's recorded-year cohort (183 bridges).
21ST. STREET in Arlington, Virginia is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1980, 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 VA:000000000000043
LATE-CENTURY · STEEL · MULTI-SPAN · SUB-LED · ARTERIAL-ADT · HEAVY-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- LATE-CENTURY 1980–1999
- STEEL Steel
- MULTI-SPAN 2 spans
- SUB-LED Substructure-led
- ARTERIAL-ADT Arterial 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: 21ST. STREET
The 21ST. STREET bridge in Arlington, Virginia carries 21ST. STREET over ROUTE I-66. It was built in 1980, making it 46 years old today. The structure is built primarily of steel and spans 2 sections, stretching 68.9 meters (226 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 5,877 vehicles, placing it in the moderately-trafficked tier of Virginia 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 21ST. STREET compares
Age against the county: built in 1980, earlier than 55 of Arlington's 183 bridges with a recorded construction year (30%), against a county median build year of 1973. This is one of the newer structures in its county.
Live comparison across Virginia bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (14,112 of 14,120 rated).
21ST. STREET vs every rated Virginia bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
69 Top 13% higher than 87% of 14,112 bridges
rated Virginia 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.
Arlington inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 183 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
- 1980
- Material
- Steel
- Number of Spans
- 2
- Structure Length
- 68.9 m (226 ft)
- Deck Width
- 14.6 m (48 ft)
- Owner
- State Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 5,877 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 000000000000043
Condition Analysis
- • At 5/9, the deck (driving surface) shows fair condition, with minor wear flagged for upkeep.
- • The superstructure (beams and supports above the deck) is in fair condition (5/9), with minor deterioration that may require routine maintenance.
- • At 4/9, the substructure (piers and abutments) is in poor shape, with advanced wear on file for this vintage.
Location
Data Source
FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
FHWA NBI Program ↗How to read this record
21ST. STREET 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 21ST. STREET against other structures in Arlington and across Virginia. Virginia 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 21ST. STREET?
21ST. STREET in Arlington, Virginia has a deck rating of 5/9, superstructure rating of 5/9, and substructure rating of 4/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is 21ST. STREET inspected?
21ST. 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 5,877 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. 21ST. STREET 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 21ST. STREET?
21ST. STREET has an NBI inventory load rating of 68.9 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining 21ST. STREET?
21ST. STREET is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
How old is 21ST. STREET and does age affect safety?
21ST. STREET was built in 1980, making it 46 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.