County Road 23
Carrying County Road 23 over Buffalo Creek - Polk Co.
4.0 MI E OF US 71 COVE, Polk, Arkansas
Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026
FHWA NBI record, refreshed with each annual release.
County Road 23 in Polk, Arkansas sits above 51% of rated Arkansas bridges on inventory load rating (28 t), while its 1940 build year is earlier than 76% of Polk's recorded-year cohort (221 bridges).
County Road 23 in Polk, Arkansas is rated Poor in the FHWA's 2024 National Bridge Inventory. Built in 1940, it carries 3 rated components on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, and its weakest reported component scores 4. The lowest applicable rating sets the federal condition category, so this Poor result describes the weakest reported component rather than the structure as a whole. No NBI category is a closure decision or a live crossing-safety verdict.
NBI record plate
Structure AR:000000000016129
PRE-1950 · STEEL · MULTI-SPAN · SUB-LED · LOCAL-ADT · STANDARD-LOAD · CAT-POOR
- PRE-1950 Pre-1950
- STEEL Steel
- MULTI-SPAN 2 spans
- SUB-LED Substructure-led
- LOCAL-ADT Local ADT
- STANDARD-LOAD Standard load
- CAT-POOR Poor
Inspection-sheet codes from this record’s year, material family, spans, controlling component, ADT, inventory load, and NBI category, not a live closure verdict.
Bridge Snapshot: County Road 23
The County Road 23 bridge in Polk, Arkansas carries County Road 23 over Buffalo Creek - Polk Co.. It was built in 1940, making it 86 years old today. It was last reconstructed in 2008, extending its service life. The structure is built primarily of steel continuous and spans 2 sections, stretching 8.5 meters (28 feet) end to end. Daily traffic averages 100 vehicles, placing it in the lower-traffic tier of Arkansas bridges. It is owned and maintained by County Highway Agency.
The latest FHWA inspection records show a deck rating of 5/9, superstructure at 6/9, substructure at 4/9. The weakest component sits in poor condition. At least one major component here scores 4 or below, which produces a Poor condition classification under FHWA's current reporting rules.
How County Road 23 compares
Age against the county: built in 1940, earlier than 167 of Polk's 221 bridges with a recorded construction year (76%), against a county median build year of 1953. Age is not a defect on its own, but it is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn.
Live comparison across Arkansas bridges with a recorded inventory load rating (12,914 of 12,974 rated).
County Road 23 vs every rated Arkansas bridge
Inventory load rating (metric tons), FHWA NBI, this state
28 Top 49% higher than 51% of 12,914 bridges
rated Arkansas bridges, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more bridges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FHWA National Bridge Inventory · August 2026
Condition Ratings
Full 0–9 scale + sufficiency-rating breakdown: how condition ratings work.
Reported 0–9 component ratings from the FHWA NBI. The highlighted component is the lowest reported input to this record’s current condition category; it is not a closure or live crossing-safety decision.
Polk inventory by recorded NBI category
Exclusive Good/Fair/Poor bands across all 221 bridges in this county. Orthogonal to this structure's component profile above: a county catalog share, not a live crossing-safety verdict.
Structural Details
- Year Built
- 1940
- Last Reconstructed
- 2008
- Material
- Steel Continuous
- Number of Spans
- 2
- Structure Length
- 8.5 m (28 ft)
- Deck Width
- 4.3 m (14 ft)
- Owner
- County Highway Agency
- Avg Daily Traffic
- 100 vehicles/day
- Structure Number
- 000000000016129
Condition Analysis
- • The deck (driving surface) rates fair at 5/9, minor deterioration that routine maintenance should address.
- • The superstructure (beams and supports above the deck) rates fair at 6/9, minor deterioration that routine maintenance should address.
- • At 4/9, the substructure (piers and abutments) is in poor shape, with advanced wear on file for this vintage.
Location
Data Source
FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
FHWA NBI Program ↗How to read this record
County Road 23 is in the federal Poor condition category. That is a component-based result, not a closure order.
- NBI condition ratings reflect the latest record in this annual dataset, not a live status. Current routine inspection intervals are risk-based.
- Understand what Poor condition does and does not mean before drawing conclusions. Poor condition explained
- Compare County Road 23 against other structures in Polk and across Arkansas. Arkansas bridges
- Noticed visible damage or a safety concern? Report it to the agency that owns the bridge, or call 911 in an emergency. How to report a bridge
Condition codes come straight from the FHWA National Bridge Inventory and are not a real-time safety judgment. Only the owning agency, a state DOT, county, or other owner, can post, restrict, or close a bridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do the condition ratings mean for County Road 23?
County Road 23 in Polk, Arkansas has a deck rating of 5/9, superstructure rating of 6/9, and substructure rating of 4/9 on the FHWA's 0–9 scale.
How often is County Road 23 inspected?
County Road 23's responsible agency sets its routine interval under FHWA's risk-based inspection rules; this page does not expose the scheduled interval. It carries about 100 vehicles per day.
What does “structurally deficient” mean in older bridge reports?
FHWA retired that reported status beginning with the 2018 archive. County Road 23 is currently shown as Poor condition from its component ratings; that category is not a live closure or safety decision.
What is the inventory load rating for County Road 23?
County Road 23 has an NBI inventory load rating of 28.1 metric tons.
Who is responsible for maintaining County Road 23?
County Road 23 is owned and maintained by County Highway Agency.
How old is County Road 23 and does age affect safety?
County Road 23 was built in 1940, making it 86 years old and last reconstructed in 2008.
Disclaimer: Bridge condition data is from the FHWA NBI and reflects the last reported inspection. A Poor condition rating is not a live declaration that a bridge is closed or unsafe for travel. For current closure, posting, or safety information, contact the responsible transportation agency.
Share this inspection record
Send this source-bounded record or download its data card. An NBI condition category is not a closure or live crossing-safety verdict.
Every figure on PlainBridges is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Component ratings, ADT, and condition category on this page are copied from the NBI record for this structure; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024 NBI release. NBI condition categories reflect the latest reported inventory record, not a live safety, closure, or travel decision.