County profile · official public datasets

Tuscaloosa County, AL

482 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 44.6% rated Good, 54.8% Fair, 0.6% Poor.

482
Public bridges
44.6%
Good condition
0.6%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Tuscaloosa County pairs a top-10% lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.

Top 10%
lowest Poor share in state
0.6%
Poor-condition share
482
public highway bridges
1981
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.

Tuscaloosa County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Tuscaloosa County ranks #7 of 67 Alabama counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 0.6%). Tuscaloosa County, Alabama contains 482 public highway bridges. Roughly 44.6% are rated “Good,” 54.8% “Fair,” and 0.6% “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

482

Public highway bridges in Tuscaloosa County

Good condition

44.6%

215 of 482 rated 7-9

Fair condition

54.8%

264 of 482 rated 5-6

Poor condition

0.6%

3 of 482 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#7 of 67

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

Condition distribution

Share of 482 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
44.6% (215)
Fair
54.8% (264)
Poor
0.6% (3)

Tuscaloosa County's Poor-condition bridges carry 17,670 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.5% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 0.6% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 5,890 crossings a day against 3,469 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 482 of 482 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

45.6% of Tuscaloosa County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

220 of the 482 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 44.6% 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 52.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 11 over NORFOLK & SO. RR Active, built 1955, carries 9,300 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 3-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 17,670 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Tuscaloosa County's bridges were built

482 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 99 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1981, 7 years newer than the Alabama average of 1974.

Source FHWA National Bridge Inventory (year built) As of 2024 NBI release

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

The 5 Alabama counties nearest Tuscaloosa County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 0.6% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1981 against a peer-group mean of 1979 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Tuscaloosa County and the 5 Alabama counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Mobile County 612 2.8%
Montgomery County 596 2.2%
Tuscaloosa County (this page) 482 0.6%
Calhoun County 386 3.9%
Baldwin County 381 1.3%
Shelby County 344 0.9%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside AL (482 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside AL (1981 here).

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

All bridges (482)

HANNAH CREEK ROAD

Good

Over: HOGSICK CREEK

5.8 MI NE OF JCT CO RT 59, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2009 Load: 47.4 t ADT: 800

FONDREN ROAD

Good

Over: BARBEE CREEK

3.1 MI NE OF JCT CO # 38, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2010 Load: 47.4 t ADT: 100

DUNCANVILLE SCHOOL

Good

Over: TADPOLE CREEK

0.45 WEST OF HWY 82, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2008 Load: 47.9 t ADT: 540

JOE MALLISHAM PKWY

Good

Over: TATER HILL TRIBUTARY

1.8 MI N BLACK WARR RV, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2002 Load: 49.1 t ADT: 1,250

ROSE BLVD

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

3.5 MI NORTH US 82, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2002 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 1,000

CLEMENTS ROAD

Good

Over: COTTONDALE CREEK

0.8 MI SE JCT US 11, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1994 Load: 54.0 t ADT: 1,000

MOCCASIN BRANCH RD

Good

Over: BRANCH

3.2 MI NW OF JCT AL 171, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2014 Load: 54.2 t ADT: 8

malone creek road

Good

Over: MALONE MILL CREEK

6.8 mi off 82 west, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2017 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 15

South Sandy Rd

Good

Over: Big Sandy Creek

0.7 MI SW US 82, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2018 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 50

Holman Church Rd

Good

Over: Kansas City Southern RR

.06 Miles S of Lee Bonner, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2022 Load: 54.7 t ADT: 487

BOYD ROAD

Good

Over: BRANCH OF DUNN CREEK REL

6.3 MI N OF JCT US NO 82, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2009 Load: 55.1 t ADT: 120

OLD FAYETTE ROAD

Good

Over: BINION CREEK

4.9 MI.INT. WITH US 43 N, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2005 Load: 57.0 t ADT: 300

GAINESVILLE ROAD

Good

Over: WOODS CREEK

1.6 MI NW OF JCT US NO 11, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1968 Load: 59.2 t ADT: 450

M-CLASS BLVD

Good

Over: NS RR Active US 11

US HWY 11, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2020 Load: 62.0 t ADT: 3,633

LAKE AVE

Good

Over: Forest Lake Branch

FOREST LAKE, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2011 Load: 71.1 t ADT: 985

HAGLER COALING RD

Good

Over: Butler Branch

5.9 MI N OF JCT US NO 82, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1962 Load: 82.4 t ADT: 300

LOCK 17 ROAD

Good

Over: PRUDES CREEK

11.9 MI N OF JCT ALA 216, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1959 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 600

31ST STREET

Good

Over: 31st Street Drainage

0.2 MI S 29TH STREET, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1977 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 144

KICKER RD.

Good

Over: CREEK

1.0 MI S OF 15TH ST, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2000 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 5,615

HALCOMB RD

Good

Over: SANDY BRANCH

0.1?MI. WEST OF HY. 43, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2006 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 40

DOLLAR ROAD

Good

Over: SUSANS CREEK

.7 MI S E HWY69 VESTAVIA, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2008 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 50

HUNTER CK LANE

Good

Over: SUSANS CREEK

.7 MI. SE 69 VESTAVIA HIL, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2008 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 32

KIRKWOOD DR

Good

Over: SUSANS CREEK

.1 MI. E HUNTER CK ROAD, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2008 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 85

KIRKWOOD DR

Good

Over: SUSANS CREEK

.1 MI E HUNTER CK ROAD, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2008 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 85

PROGRESS DRIVE

Good

Over: LITTLE HURRICANE

1/2M N HWY LL E OF STEPHE, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2009 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 750

25TH AVE EAST

Good

Over: L * N RAILROAD

1.0 MI SOUTH O RIVER RD, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2009 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 8,864

_MU0002

Good

Over: _CRIBBS MILL CREEK

.2 Mi E. of McFarland, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2019 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 2,390

_ALBRIGHT RD

Good

Over: _CRIBBS MILL CREEK

_.2 Mi N. J. Harrison, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 2021 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 2,016

25th AVE East

Good

Over: Stream

_Jct of Jack Warner pkwy, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1985 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 4,250

MLK BLVD

Poor

Over: TWO MILE CREEK

0.8 MI W US 82, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1979 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 8,250

DEASON ROAD

Poor

Over: MILL CREEK

3.8 MI NW OF JCT ALA 43, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1900 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 120

US 11

Poor

Over: NORFOLK & SO. RR Active

0.5 MI S JCT SR 215, Tuscaloosa, AL

Built 1955 Load: 29.7 t ADT: 9,300
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.