Hess Road over Galien River

Berrien County, Michigan · rated Poor in the 2025 National Bridge Inventory

United States Bridge Conditions2025 National Bridge Inventory, FHWACompiled August 20, 2026

• Hess Road over Galien River in Berrien County, Michigan, is rated in poor condition in the 2025 National Bridge Inventory (as of August 20, 2026).
• Its lowest-rated component is the substructure, rated 3 (serious condition) on the 0-9 scale.
• It was built in 1930 and reconstructed in 2004, making it 95 years old at the 2025 inventory.
• It carries about 36 vehicles a day (traffic count year 2007).
• Its listed owner is the county highway agency.
• It is one of 17 of the 270 inventoried bridges in Berrien County rated poor (6.3%); 17 (6.3%) are rated poor.
• Its traffic status in the 2025 inventory is posted for load (NBI item 41).
• Its condition class and component ratings are unchanged from the 2024 inventory.
• Its most recent inspection on record is dated April 2024, on a 12-month routine inspection cycle.
• It is coded scour critical (NBI item 113 = 2): scour critical: extensive scour observed, foundations unstable.
• 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 → (41.81424, -86.49894)

Component ratings

Bridge details

Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2025 data as reported by the Michigan department of transportation.

Busiest bridges in Berrien County

All bridges nearby: Berrien County, MI bridge conditions · every bridge in Berrien County · Michigan bridges.

Background: how bridge ratings work · what "poor" and "structurally deficient" actually mean · how often bridges are inspected.