County profile · official public datasets

Marshall County, AL

172 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 38.4% rated Good, 52.9% Fair, 8.7% Poor.

172
Public bridges: 38.4%
Good condition: 8.7%
Poor condition

The verdict

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.

Marshall County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

63rd
of 67 on Poor share: 8.7%
Poor-condition share: 172
public highway bridges: 1970
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.

Marshall County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Marshall County ranks #63 of 67 Alabama counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 8.7%). Marshall County, Alabama contains 172 public highway bridges. Roughly 38.4% are rated “Good,” 52.9% “Fair,” and 8.7% “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.

Total bridges

172

Public highway bridges in Marshall County

Good condition

38.4%

66 of 172 rated 7-9

Fair condition

52.9%

91 of 172 rated 5-6

Poor condition

8.7%

15 of 172 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#63 of 67

Among Alabama counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better

Condition distribution

Share of 172 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good

38.4% (66)

Fair

52.9% (91)

Poor

8.7% (15)

Marshall County's Poor-condition bridges carry 3,357 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 8.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 224 crossings a day against 1,773 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 172 of 172 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

61% of Marshall County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

105 of the 172 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 38.4% 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 25.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

COUNTY HWY 1131 over SLAB CREEK, built 1958, carries 850 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 15-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 3,357 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

1920s

5
1930s

17
1940s

9
1950s

40
1960s

26
1970s

15
1980s

13
1990s

18
2000s

15
2010s

12
2020s

2

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1950s, when 40 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 23.3% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 65 to 74 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1970) matches the Alabama average (1974).

How Marshall County compares with Alabama's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Alabama counties nearest Marshall County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 8.7% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1970 against a peer-group mean of 1974 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 66 Alabama counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Marshall County and the 5 Alabama counties closest to it in inventory size
County	Bridges	Good	Fair	Poor	Avg. built
Hale County	177	49.2%	45.8%	5.1%	1972
Colbert County	172	31.4%	66.9%	1.7%	1972
Marshall County (this page)	172	38.4%	52.9%	8.7%	1970
Crenshaw County	171	45%	53.2%	1.8%	1978
Pike County	169	59.8%	39.1%	1.2%	1975
Wilcox County	168	29.2%	57.1%	13.7%	1974

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 Marshall 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 Marshall County, both outside Alabama so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside AL (172 bridges here).

Moultrie County, IL · 172 bridges
Newton County, IN · 172 bridges
Pike County, IN · 172 bridges
Houston County, MN · 172 bridges

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside AL (1970 here).

Hamilton County, OH · avg 1970 · 783 bridges
Yavapai County, AZ · avg 1970 · 543 bridges
Garfield County, OK · avg 1970 · 504 bridges
San Luis Obispo County, CA · avg 1970 · 401 bridges

Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.

All 172 Good 66 Fair 91 Poor 15

All bridges (172)

Sort:

Marshall County Bridge Snapshot

Condition distribution

Marshall County's Poor-condition bridges carry 3,357 vehicle crossings a day

61% of Marshall County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

One structure carries 25.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

How Marshall County compares with Alabama's closest counties by inventory size

Nationwide counties with similar inventory size or average build year

Similar inventory size

Similar average build year

All bridges (172)

1/2 SECTION LN RD

SR 69

COUNTY HIGHWAY144

US 431; SR 1

COUNTY HIGHWAY154

ROSE RD.

COUNTY HIGHWAY101

COUNTY HIGHWAY116

EAST MCKINNEY

GUNTERSVILLE RD.

COUNTY HIGHWAY140

SR 79

COUNTY HIGHWAY147

COUNTY HIGHWAY108

COUNTY HIGHWAY108

RT. 1041

SR 205

SR 205

US 431

SR 75

US 431

SR 168

COUNTY HIGHWAY137

SR 205

COUNTY HIGHWAY146

COUNTY ROAD 1388

CO RD 1235

SR 168

COUNTY ROAD 1127

CO HW 1297 B

US 431

COUNTY HIGHWAY116

COUNTY HIGHWAY119

CORBINVILLE RD

SR 79

COUNTY HIGHWAY116

SR 75

US 431

COUNTY HIGHWAY156

COUNTY ROAD 1222

SR-69

3767 FT W JCT 1464

PINE LAKE DR

SR 227

COUNTY HWY 1127

SUMMERVILLE RD

COUNTY HIGHWAY147

BRUCE AVE NE

SR 227

COUNTY HIGHWAY121

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