WBL
Carrying WBL over BURKE MILL STREAM
GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS C.LINE, Mathews, Virginia
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
WBL in Mathews, Virginia sits above 10% of rated Virginia bridges on inventory load rating (26 t), while its 1948 build year is earlier than 60% of Mathews's recorded-year cohort (5 bridges).
WBL in Mathews, Virginia is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1948, 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:000000000011834
PRE-1950 · CONCRETE · MULTI-SPAN · SUPER-LED · HEAVY-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- PRE-1950 Pre-1950
- CONCRETE Concrete
- MULTI-SPAN 3 spans
- SUPER-LED Superstructure-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: WBL
The WBL bridge in Mathews, Virginia carries WBL over BURKE MILL STREAM. It was built in 1948, making it 78 years old today. The structure is built primarily of concrete and spans 3 sections, stretching 29.9 meters (98 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 13,944 vehicles, placing it in the heavily-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 WBL compares
Age against the county: built in 1948, earlier than 3 of Mathews's 5 bridges with a recorded construction year (60%), against a county median build year of 1949. Age is not a defect on its own, but it is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn.
Live comparison across Virginia bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (14,112 of 14,120 rated).
WBL vs every rated Virginia bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
26 Top 90% higher than 10% 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.
Mathews inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 5 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
- 1948
- Material
- Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 3
- Structure Length
- 29.9 m (98 ft)
- Deck Width
- 8.5 m (28 ft)
- Owner
- State Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 13,944 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 000000000011834
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) rates poor at 4/9, with advanced deterioration recorded on the latest inspection.
- • 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
WBL 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 WBL against other structures in Mathews 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 WBL?
WBL in Mathews, Virginia has a deck rating of 5/9, superstructure rating of 4/9, and substructure rating of 5/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is WBL inspected?
WBL'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 13,944 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. WBL 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 WBL?
WBL has an NBI inventory load rating of 26.0 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining WBL?
WBL is owned and maintained by State Highway Agency.
How old is WBL and does age affect safety?
WBL was built in 1948, making it 78 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.