ROUTE 656
Carrying ROUTE 656 over BRANCH
.82M TO 710 & .10M TO 52, Wythe, Virginia
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
ROUTE 656 in Wythe, Virginia sits above 14% of rated Virginia bridges on inventory load rating (30 t), while its 1949 build year is earlier than 75% of Wythe's recorded-year cohort (181 bridges).
ROUTE 656 in Wythe, Virginia is rated Good in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1949, it carries 1 rated component on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, and its weakest reported component scores 7. The lowest applicable rating sets the federal condition category, so this Good 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:000000000019728
PRE-1950 · CONCRETE · MULTI-SPAN · CULVERT-LED · LOCAL-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-GOOD
- PRE-1950 Pre-1950
- CONCRETE Concrete
- MULTI-SPAN 2 spans
- CULVERT-LED Culvert-led
- LOCAL-ADT Local ADT
- STANDARD-LOAD Standard load
- CAT-GOOD Good
Inspection-sheet codes from this record’s year, material family, spans, controlling component, ADT, inventory load, and NBI category, not a live closure verdict.
Bridge Snapshot: ROUTE 656
The ROUTE 656 bridge in Wythe, Virginia carries ROUTE 656 over BRANCH. It was built in 1949, making it 77 years old today. The structure is built primarily of concrete and spans 2 sections, stretching 8.8 meters (29 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 314 vehicles, placing it in the lower-traffic tier of Virginia bridges. It is owned and maintained by Town/Township Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection records show culvert at 7/9. The weakest component sits in good condition. No reported major component scores in the Poor range under the current federal condition thresholds.
How ROUTE 656 compares
Age against the county: built in 1949, earlier than 135 of Wythe's 181 bridges with a recorded construction year (75%), against a county median build year of 1964. 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).
ROUTE 656 vs every rated Virginia bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
30 Top 86% higher than 14% 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.
Wythe inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 181 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
- 1949
- Material
- Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 2
- Structure Length
- 8.8 m (29 ft) 0
- Owner
- Town/Township Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 314 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 000000000019728
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 ROUTE 656 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 ROUTE 656 against other structures in Wythe 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 ROUTE 656?
ROUTE 656 in Wythe, Virginia on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is ROUTE 656 inspected?
ROUTE 656'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 314 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. ROUTE 656 is currently shown as Good condition from its component ratings; that category is not a live closure or safety decision.
What is the inventory load rating for ROUTE 656?
ROUTE 656 has an NBI inventory load rating of 29.9 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining ROUTE 656?
ROUTE 656 is owned and maintained by Town/Township Highway Agency.
How old is ROUTE 656 and does age affect safety?
ROUTE 656 was built in 1949, making it 77 years old.
Disclaimer: Bridge condition data is from the FHWA NBI and reflects the last reported inspection. A Poor condition rating is not a live declaration that a bridge is closed or unsafe for travel. For current closure, posting, or safety information, contact the responsible transportation agency.
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.