1. © 2014 The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of
ARTBA.
Highlights from FHWA’s 2013 National Bridge Inventory Data:
 Of the 18,168 bridges in the state, 2,308 bridges, or 13% are classified as structurally deficient.
This means one or more of the key bridge elements, such as the deck, superstructure or
substructure, is considered to be in “poor” or worse condition.1
 There are 3,226 bridges, or 18% of all state bridges, classified as functionally obsolete. This
means the bridge does not meet design standards that are in line with current practice.
 Federal-aid investment in North Carolina has supported $1.9 billion in bridge construction
spending on 3,384 bridges between 2003 and 2012, according to FHWA data.2
 Since 2004, 1,988 new bridges have been constructed in the state and 64 bridges have
undergone major reconstruction.
 The state estimates that it would cost approximately $29.0 million to fix a total of 7,949 bridges
in the state.3
Bridge Inventory:
All Bridges Structurally deficient Bridges
Type of Bridge Total
Number
Area (sq.
meters)
Daily
Crossings
Total
Number
Area (sq.
meters)
Daily
Crossings
Rural Bridges
Interstate 493 401,872 10,655,000 28 33,878 647,250
Other principal arterial 1,085 1,221,971 11,601,743 57 138,332 633,500
Minor arterial 716 507,202 5,104,130 68 109,727 419,480
Major collector 2,060 1,109,555 7,695,696 225 221,999 730,575
Minor collector 1,676 528,525 3,001,313 268 63,400 413,063
Local 7,792 1,484,152 5,616,757 1,291 201,443 808,449
Urban Bridges
Interstate 665 951,381 27,392,250 24 21,247 993,375
Other freeway 488 654,006 11,869,697 46 63,821 1,368,950
Principal arterial 672 764,289 12,594,945 60 65,013 947,350
Minor arterial 716 572,845 8,390,805 60 44,295 573,750
Collector 422 263,769 3,122,665 49 23,892 250,940
Local 1,383 507,669 6,254,261 132 40,751 458,134
Not classified 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 18,168 8,967,236 113,299,262 2,308 1,027,798 8,244,816
1
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a bridge is classified as structurally deficient if the condition rating for the deck,
superstructure, substructure or culvert and retaining walls is rated 4 or below or if the bridge receives an appraisal rating of 2 or less for
structural condition or waterway adequacy. During inspections, the condition of a variety of bridge elements are rated on a scale of 0 (failed
condition) to 9 (excellent condition). A rating of 4 is considered “poor” condition and the individual element displays signs of advanced section
loss, deterioration, spalling or scour.
2
ARTBA analysis of FHWA data, includes all bridge construction related spending on projects approved by FHWA between 2003 and 2012.
3
This data is provided by bridge owners as part of the FHWA data and is required for any bridge eligible for the Highway Bridge Replacement
and Rehabilitation Program. However, for some states this amount is very low and likely not an accurate reflection of current costs.
State Bridge Profile
North Carolina

2. © 2014 The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of
ARTBA.
Proposed bridge work:
Type of Work Number Cost (millions) Daily Crossings Area (sq. meters)
Bridge replacement 1,911 $6.0 5,643,097 788,604
Widening & rehabilitation 0 $0.0 0 0
Rehabilitation 5,891 $12.3 42,279,812 2,853,117
Deck rehabilitation/replacement 0 $0.0 0 0
Other work 147 $10.8 143,573 66,404
Top 10 Most Traveled Structurally Deficient Bridges in the State
County Year
Built
Daily
Crossings
Type of Bridge Location
(route/water under the bridge, traffic on the bridge and
location)
Guilford 1955 120,000 Urban Interstate SOUTH BUFFALO CREEK, I40 & I85 BUS., 0.5 MI. N. JCT. I85
BUS.
Wake 1981 113,000 Urban Interstate US70, I40, 0.4MI. W. JCT.SR1564
Forsyth 1963 81,000 Urban
freeway/expressway
US311, US52 US311, 1.0 MI. N. JCT. I40
Mecklenburg 1967 72,000 Urban Interstate BREVARD STREET, I277 & NC1, 0.7 MI.N.JCT.US74 WBL
Forsyth 1955 72,000 Urban
freeway/expressway
SR4315(LIBERTY ST), I40 BUS, 0.7 MI. W. JCT. US52
Forsyth 1964 72,000 Urban
freeway/expressway
28TH STREET, US52, 0.2 MI. S. JCT. SR2456
Forsyth 1964 72,000 Urban
freeway/expressway
25TH STREET, US52, 0.3 MI. S. JCT. SR2456
Forsyth 1960 71,000 Urban
freeway/expressway
LITTLE CREEK, US421, 0.1 MI.W.JCT.I40
Guilford 1954 59,000 Urban Interstate US29 US70 US220 NBL, I40 I85 WBL, 0.3 MI. N. JCT. SR1401
Forsyth 1971 59,000 Urban
freeway/expressway
DIGGS BOULEVARD, US52 US311&NC8, 0.8 MI. S. JCT. I40
Sources: All data is from the 2013 National Bridge Inventory, released by the Federal Highway Administration in March 2014.
Note that specific conditions on bridge may have changed as a result of recent work. Cost estimates of bridge work provided as
part of the data and have been adjusted to 2013$ for inflation and estimated project costs. Contract awards data is for state
and local government awards and comes from McGraw Hill. Note that additional bridge investment may be a part of other
contract awards if a smaller bridge project is included with a highway project, and that would not be accounted for in the total
in this profile.