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US321 over Lower Creek

Caldwell County, North Carolina · rated Fair in the 2025 National Bridge Inventory

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

US321 over Lower Creek in Caldwell County, North Carolina, is rated in fair condition in the 2025 National Bridge Inventory (as of August 20, 2026).
Its lowest-rated component is the culvert, rated 5 (fair condition) on the 0-9 scale.
It was built in 1954 and reconstructed in 1972, making it 71 years old at the 2025 inventory.
It carries about 28,000 vehicles a day (traffic count year 2022).
Its listed owner is the state highway agency.
It is one of 114 of the 201 inventoried bridges in Caldwell County rated fair (56.7%); 20 (10.0%) are rated poor.
A fair rating means the lowest-rated major component scores 5 or 6 on FHWA's 0-9 scale: some deterioration or minor section loss, but the structure is sound. It is the middle class, not a warning.

Component ratings

Component	Rating (2025)	FHWA scale meaning
Culvert	5	Fair condition


Structure	Continuous concrete culvert
Length	about 67 ft
Location	.3 MI.S.JCT.NC18
NBI structure number	000000000270052
Condition class	Fair

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

Bridge	Built	Vehicles/day	Condition
US321 over Little Gunpowder Creek	1954	33,000	Fair
US321 over Ut to Angley Creek	1960	31,500	Fair
US321 over Zacks Fork Creek	1940	28,000	Fair
US321NBL over Lake Hickory	1983	22,250	Poor
US321SBL over Lake Hickory	1962	22,250	Fair
US64 NC18 over Zacks Fork Creek	1924	21,000	Fair