Total bridges
710
Public highway bridges in Madison County
County profile · official public datasets
Madison County, AL
710 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 41.8% rated Good, 56.9% Fair, 1.3% Poor.
- 710
- Public bridges
- 41.8%
- Good condition
- 1.3%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Madison County posts a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across large county bridge inventory.
- Top 22%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 1.3%
- Poor-condition share
- 710
- public highway bridges
- 1972
- avg year built
Poor is an FHWA condition category from the lowest applicable component rating (4 or below), not a live crossing-safety or closure decision. Rankings cover counties with at least five public highway bridges.
Madison County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Madison County ranks #15 of 67 Alabama counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 1.3%). Madison County, Alabama contains 710 public highway bridges. Roughly 41.8% are rated “Good,” 56.9% “Fair,” and 1.3% “Poor.” Poor means the lowest applicable deck, superstructure, substructure, or culvert rating is 4 or below on the 0–9 NBI scale. It is a condition category, not a live safety or closure decision.
Responsible agencies inspect covered bridges on risk-based intervals under current NBIS rules and submit inventory data to FHWA annually. The list below shows every NBI-tracked bridge in the county. Use the “Sort by” controls to change the ordering, and click any row for its reported inspection date, traffic count, and condition fields.
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory. See methodology for full definitions.
Good condition
41.8%
297 of 710 rated 7-9
Fair condition
56.9%
404 of 710 rated 5-6
Poor condition
1.3%
9 of 710 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#15 of 67
Among Alabama counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 710 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 41.8% (297)
Fair 56.9% (404)
Poor 1.3% (9)
Madison County's Poor-condition bridges carry 35,312 vehicle crossings a day
That is 0.5% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 1.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 3,924 crossings a day against 10,801 for a Good-condition one. A Poor rating is a condition category, not a closure or a live safety judgement; it means the lowest applicable component rating is 4 or below.
Computed over the 709 of 710 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
55.5% of Madison County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
394 of the 710 bridges with a recorded construction year were built in 1974 or earlier. Age alone is not a defect: a well-maintained older bridge can rate Good, and 41.8% of this county's inventory does. Even so, this older cohort is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn, which is why the age profile below matters alongside the condition split above.
Cutoff derives from the 2024 release year minus a 50-year design life. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
One structure carries 54.1% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
SPARKMAN DR over PINHOOK CREEK, built 1968, carries 19,100 vehicles a day, the most of any Poor-rated structure here. The county's Poor-condition exposure is concentrated rather than evenly spread, so the 9-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 35,312 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Madison County's bridges were built
710 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1900s 1
1900–1909
1 bridges
- 1910s 4
1910–1919
4 bridges
- 1920s 12
1920–1929
12 bridges
- 1930s
1930–1939
97 bridges
- 1940s
1940–1949
63 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
73 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
93 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
64 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
79 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
99 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
66 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
46 bridges
- 2020s 13
2020–2029
13 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 99 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 13.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1972) matches the Alabama average (1974).
How Madison County compares with Alabama's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Alabama counties nearest Madison County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 1.3% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1972 against a peer-group mean of 1979 is 7 years older.
Showing the 5 closest of 66 Alabama counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison County (this page) | 710 | 41.8% | 56.9% | 1.3% | 1972 |
| Mobile County | 612 | 21.1% | 76.1% | 2.8% | 1980 |
| Montgomery County | 596 | 37.9% | 59.9% | 2.2% | 1975 |
| Tuscaloosa County | 482 | 44.6% | 54.8% | 0.6% | 1981 |
| Calhoun County | 386 | 32.9% | 63.2% | 3.9% | 1969 |
| Baldwin County | 381 | 48.3% | 50.4% | 1.3% | 1991 |
Each share is of that county's own total tracked bridges; peers are the counties with 5 or more bridges whose inventory size is closest to Madison County's. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
Nationwide counties with similar inventory size or average build year
Two NBI-derived peer sets for Madison County, both outside Alabama so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside AL (710 bridges here).
- Montgomery County, TX · 710 bridges
- McLennan County, TX · 714 bridges
- Pinal County, AZ · 716 bridges
- Pulaski County, AR · 721 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside AL (1972 here).
- Santa Clara County, CA · avg 1972 · 964 bridges
- Kern County, CA · avg 1972 · 668 bridges
- York County, PA · avg 1972 · 569 bridges
- Middlesex County, NJ · avg 1972 · 563 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (404)
US 231; SR 53
FairOver: BRANCH * DRAKE AVE
1 MI S JCT US431 * US231, Madison, AL
Built 1965 Load: 30.9 t ADT: 82,289
Upper Hurricane Rd
FairOver: Hurricane Creek
3 mi. NE Jct.CO RD 468_, Madison, AL
Built 2019 Load: 31.0 t ADT: 74
TIMBERCREST DR
FairOver: PINHOOK CREEK
3600 TIMBERCREST DR, Madison, AL
Built 1961 Load: 31.3 t ADT: 500
MORRIS ROAD
FairOver: TOFTOY THROUGHWAY
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Madison, AL
Built 1968 Load: 31.4 t ADT: 967
US 72; SR 2
FairOver: NORFOLK SOUTHERN
JCT US 72 * N/S RR, Madison, AL
Built 1957 Load: 31.6 t ADT: 4,588
US72; SR2
FairOver: NORFOLK SOUTHERN
JCT US 72 * N/S RR, Madison, AL
Built 1959 Load: 31.6 t ADT: 4,588
DRAKE AVE
FairOver: HUNTSVILLE SPRING BRANCH
DRAKE AVE * HUNTS SPG BR, Madison, AL
Built 1968 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 20,000
NAUGHER RD
FairOver: VOEGEL CREEK
1.3 MI S CO RD 1305, Madison, AL
Built 1989 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 650
MONROE STREET
FairOver: FAGAN CREEK
1.0 MILES NORTH U.S. 431, Madison, AL
Built 2004 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 4,700
HALL ST
FairOver: BROGLAN BRANCH
2418 HALL ST, Madison, AL
Built 1972 Load: 31.9 t ADT: 3,658
BUTLER MILL RD
FairOver: PAINT ROCK RIVER
2.2 MI E JCT CO RD 5 37, Madison, AL
Built 1927 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 272
WALL TRIANA RD.
FairOver: KNOX CREEK
0.9 MI N. JCT US 72, Madison, AL
Built 1919 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 22,750
MACEDONIA RD
FairOver: TYRONE CREEK
0.5 MI E CO RD 336, Madison, AL
Built 1937 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 934
WALL TRIANA HWY
FairOver: KNOX CREEK
1.15 MI N. JCT. US 72, Madison, AL
Built 1919 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 22,500
ALBERT MANN RD
FairOver: CEDAR CREEK
3.0 MI E OF NEW HOPE, Madison, AL
Built 1938 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 400
BROWNSBORO RD
FairOver: FLINT RIVER (RELIEF)
0.25 MI NE US HWY 72 E, Madison, AL
Built 1938 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 450
SLAUGHTER RD
FairOver: COON CREEK
0.7 N JCT CO RD 016, Madison, AL
Built 1939 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,241
MAYSVILLE RD
FairOver: BURDINE CREEK
0.7 MI SO CO RD 1469, Madison, AL
Built 1940 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 600
HARRISON COVE RD
FairOver: KILLINGSWORTH COVE BRCH
0.25 MI E CO RD 1411, Madison, AL
Built 1940 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 150
STONE DRIVE
FairOver: SECTION BRANCH
0.5 MI NO US HWY 72 E, Madison, AL
Built 1943 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 250
DRAKE AVE
FairOver: BRAHAN SPRINGS LAGOON
BRAHAN SPRING AT DRAKE AV, Madison, AL
Built 1955 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 17,000
OAKWOOD AVE
FairOver: PINHOOK CREEK
510 OAKWOOD AVE E, Madison, AL
Built 1957 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 14,100
MAX LUTHER
FairOver: PINHOOK CREEK
WEST OF NORTH PARK, Madison, AL
Built 1961 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 4,200
DUG HILL RD
FairOver: BIG COVE CREEK
0.25 MI E CO RD 1240, Madison, AL
Built 1940 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 850
MASTIN LAKE RD
FairOver: PINHOOK CREEK
BY MASTIN LAKE SCHOOL, Madison, AL
Built 1968 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 16,700
GARTH
FairOver: ALDRIDGE CREEK
GARTH * DRAKE, Madison, AL
Built 1970 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,100
EASTERN BYPASS
FairOver: PEAVEY CREEK
3 MILES EAST OF U.S. 431, Madison, AL
Built 1999 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 10,400
SHORT PIKE ROAD
FairOver: Bradford Creek
0.3 MILES WEST OF WALL TR, Madison, AL
Built 1955 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 80
Hobbs Road
FairOver: Trib to Spring Branch
2 mile west u.s. 231, Madison, AL
Built 1958 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300
Pulaski Pike
FairOver: Limestone Creek
w. of Old R.R.Bed Rd., Madison, AL
Built 1944 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,696
_Glenn Ives Way
FairOver: _Tributary
_, Madison, AL
Built 2004 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 500
GOSS ROAD
FairOver: MCDONALD CREEK
0.1 MILE WEST OF GATE 8, Madison, AL
Built 1945 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 15,100
HANSON ROAD
FairOver: DRAINAGE DITCH
0.5 MI EAST OF PATTON RD, Madison, AL
Built 1945 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300
GOSS ROAD
FairOver: MCDONALD CREEK TRIBUTARY
0.4 WEST OF GATE 8, Madison, AL
Built 1945 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 15,100
RIDEOUT RD
FairOver: TRIB INDIAN CREEK
0.6 M N OF HOMESTEAD RD, Madison, AL
Built 1950 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 14,800
RIDEOUT RD
FairOver: TRIB INDIAN CREEK
South of Gate 9, Madison, AL
Built 1950 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 14,800
FOWLER ROAD
FairOver: TRIB HUNTSVILLE SPR BR
WEST OF MILLS RD, Madison, AL
Built 1975 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,500
METROLOGY DR
FairOver: TRIB HUNTSVILLE SPR BR
CALIBRATION DR & BLD 5437, Madison, AL
Built 1970 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 100
VIPER RD
FairOver: TRIB HUNTSVILLE SPR BR
NE OF JUNGLEMAN RD, Madison, AL
Built 1970 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 100
MILLS ROAD SW
FairOver: TRIB HUNTSVILLE SPR BR
PATTON RD W, Madison, AL
Built 1970 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 3,000
PATTON ROAD
FairOver: TRIB HUNTSVILLE SPR BR
S OF SPORTSMAN RD, Madison, AL
Built 1975 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 7,000
MADISON PIKE
FairOver: I-565
1.4 MI E JCT SR 255, Madison, AL
Built 1991 Load: 32.8 t ADT: 12,826
BRAHAN ST
FairOver: BROGLAN BRANCH
2208 BRAHAN ST, Madison, AL
Built 1972 Load: 33.1 t ADT: 1,500
OAKWOOD RD
FairOver: DRY CREEK
2201 OAKWOOD RD, Madison, AL
Built 1970 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 2,050
US 231; SR 53
FairOver: DRAKE AVE
DRAKE AVE / * SR 53, Madison, AL
Built 1973 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 78,500
PULASKI PIKE
FairOver: TYRONE CREEK
1 MI WEST LIMESTONECO, Madison, AL
Built 1940 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 1,650
HARRISON COVE RD
FairOver: HARRISON COVE BRANCH
0.5 MI E CO RD 1411, Madison, AL
Built 1940 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 140
US231; US431; SR1
FairOver: BEAVER DAM CREEK
11 MI S ALA-TENN ST LINE, Madison, AL
Built 1929 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 14,156
MASTIN LAKE RD
FairOver: DRY CREEK
5314 MASTIN LAKE RD, Madison, AL
Built 1965 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 16,800
NEW WYNN DRIVE
FairOver: STREAM
.2 MI N JCT OF US72* WYNN, Madison, AL
Built 1986 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 5,500
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBridges
Every figure on PlainBridges is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. NBI condition categories reflect the latest reported inventory record, not a live safety, closure, or travel decision.