County profile · official public datasets

Independence County, AR

184 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 39.1% rated Good, 52.2% Fair, 8.7% Poor.

184
Public bridges
39.1%
Good condition
8.7%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Independence County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.

60th
of 75 on Poor share
8.7%
Poor-condition share
184
public highway bridges
1975
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.

Independence County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Independence County ranks #60 of 75 Arkansas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 8.7%). Independence County, Arkansas contains 184 public highway bridges. Roughly 39.1% are rated “Good,” 52.2% “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

184

Public highway bridges in Independence County

Good condition

39.1%

72 of 184 rated 7-9

Fair condition

52.2%

96 of 184 rated 5-6

Poor condition

8.7%

16 of 184 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#60 of 75

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

Condition distribution

Share of 184 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
39.1% (72)
Fair
52.2% (96)
Poor
8.7% (16)

Independence County's Poor-condition bridges carry 11,120 vehicle crossings a day

That is 2.3% 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 695 crossings a day against 2,421 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 184 of 184 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

42.9% of Independence County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

79 of the 184 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 39.1% 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 49.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SH 25/Independ. Co over BLUE CREEK, built 1955, carries 5,500 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 16-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 11,120 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Independence County's bridges were built

184 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 34 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 18.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1975, 5 years older than the Arkansas average of 1980.

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

How Independence County compares with Arkansas's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Arkansas counties nearest Independence 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 1975 against a peer-group mean of 1977 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 74 Arkansas counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Independence County and the 5 Arkansas counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Scott County 198 6.6%
Poinsett County 194 16%
Pope County 188 1.1%
Lonoke County 187 4.8%
Independence County (this page) 184 8.7%
Hempstead County 174 3.4%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside AR (184 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside AR (1975 here).

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

All 184 Good 72 Fair 96 Poor 16

Good-condition bridges (72)

SH 25/Indepen Co.

Good

Over: PFEIFER CREEK

.35 Mi. E. SH233 & 25 JCT, Independence, AR

Built 2006 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 5,479

US 167/Indepen Co.

Good

Over: Mo. & No. Ar. RR

.80 Mi N. Jct SH 69, Independence, AR

Built 2010 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 17,747

US 167/Indepen Co.

Good

Over: Miller Creek

1.0 Mi N. SH 69, Independence, AR

Built 2010 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 17,747

SH 106/Indepen. Co

Good

Over: US Lime Haul Prvt Rd

1.5 mi E of Jct 106/106S, Independence, AR

Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,400

CR640/Independ. Co

Good

Over: COON CREEK

.02 MI NW INT CO RD 91, Independence, AR

Built 1972 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 44

Cr91/Indepen. Co.

Good

Over: CAVE CREEK

3.05 MI NW US 167, Independence, AR

Built 1976 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 650

CR 98/Indepen. Co.

Good

Over: BARNETT CREEK

2.88 MI W US 167, Independence, AR

Built 1986 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 75

CR 86/Independ. Co

Good

Over: BLUE CREEK

2.52 MI W SH 233, Independence, AR

Built 1983 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 62

CR 1/Independ. Co.

Good

Over: PINEY CREEK

2.2 MI NO SH 87, Independence, AR

Built 1983 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 136

CR66/Independ. Co.

Good

Over: DOTA CREEK

0.18 Mi S. Jct Antioch Rd, Independence, AR

Built 1992 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 131

Cr91/Indepen. Co.

Good

Over: COON CREEK

2 MI E SANDTOWN, Independence, AR

Built 1992 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 19

Independence/CR 79

Good

Over: CURIA CREEK

3.2 MILE N E JCT SH 25, Independence, AR

Built 1993 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

CR 221/Independ.Co

Good

Over: Big Bottom Slough

.3 mile west of SH 122, Independence, AR

Built 2003 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 7

CR 77 / Indep. Co.

Good

Over: DRY FORK CREEK

1MI S. SH. 25, Independence, AR

Built 2005 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 117

CR 18 / Independ.

Good

Over: Piney Creek

6.25 Miles So SH 157, Independence, AR

Built 2015 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 170

CR 460/Indepen. Co

Good

Over: Dog Lick Creek

.40 Miles NW of SH 157, Independence, AR

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 103

Misty Ln

Good

Over: Ditch

4.5 mi S Jct Sharp Co Ln, Independence, AR

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 218

CR76 Center Grove

Good

Over: Dota Creek

.15 Mi. E. Hwy. 25 Spur, Independence, AR

Built 2021 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 30

SH 106/Indepen. Co

Good

Over: CREEK

1.4 Mi.S.SH.106 LM 11.37, Independence, AR

Built 2002 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 220

SH 122/Indep.Co

Good

Over: Creek

2.7 Mi. SW Jct. 37 & 122, Independence, AR

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 752

SH 106

Good

Over: Dry Run Creek

0.6mi W Jct SH 69 B, Independence, AR

Built 2020 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 3,800

AR Hwy 230

Good

Over: Double Branch

SH 230/ Independence Coun, Independence, AR

Built 2023 Load: 75.3 t ADT: 1,600

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

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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.