Cahaba Beach Road over Little Cahaba River
Shelby County, Alabama · rated Poor in the 2025 National Bridge Inventory
United States Bridge Conditions2025 National Bridge Inventory, FHWACompiled
- Cahaba Beach Road over Little Cahaba River in Shelby County, Alabama, is rated in poor condition in the 2025 National Bridge Inventory (as of ).
- Its lowest-rated component is the superstructure, rated 2 (critical condition) on the 0-9 scale.
- It was built in 1904, making it 121 years old at the 2025 inventory.
- It carries about 100 vehicles a day (traffic count year 1996).
- Its listed owner is a city or municipal highway agency.
- It is one of 3 of the 343 inventoried bridges in Shelby County rated poor (0.9%); 3 (0.9%) are rated poor.
- Its traffic status in the 2025 inventory is closed to all traffic (NBI item 41).
- Its condition class and component ratings are unchanged from the 2024 inventory.
- Its most recent inspection on record is dated October 2019, on a 24-month routine inspection cycle.
- It has fracture-critical members (NBI item 92A): steel tension members without a redundant load path, which get their own scheduled inspections.
- A poor rating means at least one major component - deck, superstructure, or substructure - is rated 4 or lower on FHWA's 0-9 scale. It does not by itself mean the bridge is unsafe; bridges judged unsafe are closed or load-restricted by their owners.
View this bridge on a map → (33.43977, -86.69927)
Component ratings
| Component | Rating (2024) | Rating (2025) | FHWA scale meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deck | 5 | 5 | Fair condition |
| Superstructure | 2 | 2 | Critical condition |
| Substructure | 5 | 5 | Fair condition |
Bridge details
| Structure | Steel through truss |
| Length | about 109 ft |
| Location | 1.8 Miles North of US 280 |
| NBI structure number | 000024 |
| Condition class | Poor |
| Traffic status (item 41) | Closed to all traffic |
| Last inspection (item 90) | October 2019 |
| Inspection interval (item 91) | 24 months |
| Scour (item 113) | 6: scour evaluation not yet made |
| Fracture critical (item 92A) | Yes |
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2025 data as reported by the Alabama department of transportation.
Busiest bridges in Shelby County
| Bridge | Built | Vehicles/day | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| I - 65 over Bishop Creek | 1980 | 83,600 | Fair |
| I65 over Hogpen Creek | 1979 | 77,840 | Fair |
| I - 65 over Buck Ck | 1959 | 57,460 | Fair |
| I - 65 South over Cahaba River | 1978 | 56,815 | Fair |
| I - 65 North over Cahaba River | 1978 | 56,815 | Fair |
| I - 65 South over Co Rd 17 | 1980 | 47,910 | Fair |
All bridges nearby: Shelby County, AL bridge conditions · every bridge in Shelby County · Alabama bridges.
Background: how bridge ratings work · what "poor" and "structurally deficient" actually mean · how often bridges are inspected.