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SR1538 over Wards Creek

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

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

SR1538 over Wards Creek in Cleveland 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 superstructure, rated 5 (fair condition) on the 0-9 scale.
It was built in 1965, making it 60 years old at the 2025 inventory.
It carries about 570 vehicles a day (traffic count year 2016).
Its listed owner is the state highway agency.
It is one of 140 of the 274 inventoried bridges in Cleveland County rated fair (51.1%); 32 (11.7%) 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


Structure	Steel stringer or multi-beam girder
Length	about 69 ft
Location	0.2 Mi. N. Jct. SR1536
NBI structure number	000000000450175
Condition class	Fair

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

Bridge	Built	Vehicles/day	Condition
US74 Ebl over Buffalo Creek	1957	83,000	Fair
US74 over Hickory Creek	1949	40,000	Fair
US74 Ebl over First Broad River	1936	35,000	Fair
US74 Wbl over First Broad River	1963	35,000	Fair
US74 over Mcgill Creek	1982	35,000	Fair
US74 & SR2604 over Potts Creek	1981	33,500	Fair