Rt. 501
Carrying Rt. 501 over Cheese Creek
0204RTE221 0160RTE501BU, Lynchburg city, Virginia
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
Rt. 501 in Lynchburg city, Virginia sits above 97% of rated Virginia bridges on inventory load rating (90 t), while its 1989 build year is earlier than 33% of Lynchburg city's recorded-year cohort (80 bridges).
Rt. 501 in Lynchburg city, Virginia is rated Good in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1989, 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:000000000020589
LATE-CENTURY · CONCRETE · MULTI-SPAN · CULVERT-LED · HEAVY-ADT · HEAVY-LOAD · CAT-GOOD
- LATE-CENTURY 1980–1999
- CONCRETE Concrete
- MULTI-SPAN 2 spans
- CULVERT-LED Culvert-led
- HEAVY-ADT Heavy ADT
- HEAVY-LOAD Heavy 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: Rt. 501
The Rt. 501 bridge in Lynchburg city, Virginia carries Rt. 501 over Cheese Creek. It was built in 1989, making it 37 years old today. The structure is built primarily of concrete and spans 2 sections, stretching 6.7 meters (22 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 13,635 vehicles, placing it in the heavily-trafficked tier of Virginia bridges. It is owned and maintained by City/Municipal Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection records show culvert at 7/9. The weakest component sits in good condition. None of this bridge's reported major components fall into the Poor condition range.
How Rt. 501 compares
Age against the county: built in 1989, earlier than 26 of Lynchburg city's 80 bridges with a recorded construction year (33%), against a county median build year of 1976. 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).
Rt. 501 vs every rated Virginia bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
90 Top 3% higher than 97% 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.
Lynchburg city inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 80 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
- 1989
- Material
- Concrete
- Number of Spans
- 2
- Structure Length
- 6.7 m (22 ft) 0
- Owner
- City/Municipal Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 13,635 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 000000000020589
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 Rt. 501 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 Rt. 501 against other structures in Lynchburg city 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 Rt. 501?
Rt. 501 in Lynchburg city, Virginia on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is Rt. 501 inspected?
Rt. 501'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 13,635 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. Rt. 501 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 Rt. 501?
Rt. 501 has an NBI inventory load rating of 89.8 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining Rt. 501?
Rt. 501 is owned and maintained by City/Municipal Highway Agency.
How old is Rt. 501 and does age affect safety?
Rt. 501 was built in 1989, making it 37 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.