Photos
 |
Photo taken by Matthew Ridpath in December 2008 |
 |
Photo taken by Matthew Ridpath in December 2008 |
 |
Photo taken by Matthew Ridpath in December 2008 |
 |
Photo taken by Matthew Ridpath in December 2008 |
Facts
- Overview
- Swing bridge over Smith Creek on Castle Hayne Road in Wrightsboro
- Location
- New Hanover County, North Carolina
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1931; rehabilitated 1962
- Design
- Swing
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 171.9 ft.
Total length: 248.0 ft.
Deck width: 27.9 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.0 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +34.26194, -77.93778 (decimal degrees)
34°15'43" N, 77°56'16" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 18/229494/3795106 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Castle Hayne
- Inventory numbers
- NC 1290029 (North Carolina bridge number)
BH 23299 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 10/2006)
- Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Poor (4 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 31.2 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 2003)
- 25,000
Comments
I recently traveled out to this bridge and found out that it's no longer a functioning swing span, so it remains in the closed position. Also, US 117 and NC 133 no longer go over the bridge. US 117 travels into Wilmington on College Road, then heads east on Shipyard Blvd, terminating at the state port. NC 133 has been routed onto the limited access Martin Luther Parkway, which crosses over this creek not far south from this bridge (it can be seen in one of the photos). I really hope that by taking a large amount of thru traffic off of it this bridge's life will be extended somewhat. It really looks neat against the water and it would be a shame to have it replaced with a slab. The deck is definitely worn down because you can see the reinforcement coming through.
Photo taken June 17, 2007.
