Total bridges
65
Public highway bridges in Newton County
County profile · official public datasets
Newton County, AR
65 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 47.7% rated Good, 49.2% Fair, 3.1% Poor.
- 65
- Public bridges
- 47.7%
- Good condition
- 3.1%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Newton County posts a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across rated county bridge inventory.
- Top 28%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 3.1%
- Poor-condition share
- 65
- public highway bridges
- 1977
- 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.
Newton County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Newton County ranks #21 of 75 Arkansas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 3.1%). Newton County, Arkansas contains 65 public highway bridges. Roughly 47.7% are rated “Good,” 49.2% “Fair,” and 3.1% “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
47.7%
31 of 65 rated 7-9
Fair condition
49.2%
32 of 65 rated 5-6
Poor condition
3.1%
2 of 65 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#21 of 75
Among Arkansas counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 65 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 47.7% (31)
Fair 49.2% (32)
Poor 3.1% (2)
Newton County's Poor-condition bridges carry 9,301 vehicle crossings a day
That is 18% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 3.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 4,651 crossings a day against 696 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 65 of 65 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
41.5% of Newton County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
27 of the 65 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 47.7% 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 72% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
SH 65 Newton over Circle Dr.&Marshall Crk, built 1966, carries 6,701 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 2-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 9,301 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Newton County's bridges were built
65 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s 3
1920–1929
3 bridges
- 1930s 3
1930–1939
3 bridges
- 1940s 3
1940–1949
3 bridges
- 1950s 4
1950–1959
4 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
11 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
15 bridges
- 1980s 4
1980–1989
4 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
10 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
6 bridges
- 2010s 4
2010–2019
4 bridges
- 2020s 2
2020–2029
2 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 15 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 23.1% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1977) matches the Arkansas average (1980).
How Newton County compares with Arkansas's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Arkansas counties nearest Newton County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 3.1% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1977 against a peer-group mean of 1974 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 74 Arkansas counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone County | 73 | 39.7% | 47.9% | 12.3% | 1973 |
| Lafayette County | 72 | 62.5% | 34.7% | 2.8% | 1987 |
| Marion County | 65 | 44.6% | 50.8% | 4.6% | 1966 |
| Searcy County | 65 | 41.5% | 55.4% | 3.1% | 1970 |
| Newton County (this page) | 65 | 47.7% | 49.2% | 3.1% | 1977 |
| Cleburne County | 53 | 41.5% | 52.8% | 5.7% | 1973 |
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 Newton 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 Newton County, both outside Arkansas so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside AR (65 bridges here).
- Sierra County, CA · 65 bridges
- Pierce County, GA · 65 bridges
- Payette County, ID · 65 bridges
- Newaygo County, MI · 65 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside AR (1977 here).
- San Diego County, CA · avg 1977 · 1,632 bridges
- King County, WA · avg 1977 · 1,238 bridges
- Riverside County, CA · avg 1977 · 1,117 bridges
- Shelby County, TN · avg 1977 · 1,077 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (32)
CR 39 Newton
FairOver: Big Creek
.26 Mi SE of SH 123, Newton, AR
Built 2011 Load: 9.1 t ADT: 100
LOCAL ACCESS ROAD
FairOver: BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER
0.5 miles east of Ponca, Newton, AR
Built 1943 Load: 14.5 t ADT: 20
SH 7 Newton
FairOver: HARP CREEK
2.14 MI SO OF DOGPATCH, Newton, AR
Built 1928 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 2,400
SH 43 Newton
FairOver: STREAM
1.3 MI N JCT SH 74 & 43, Newton, AR
Built 1971 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 470
CR 29 Newton
FairOver: PINEY CREEK
5.7 MI S JCT SH16 & CR29, Newton, AR
Built 1998 Load: 17.9 t ADT: 110
CR 6335 Newton
FairOver: BIG CREEK
0.4 MI SW of MT JUDEA, Newton, AR
Built 2003 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 210
Newton CR 86
FairOver: EAST FORK of SHOP CREEK
1 Mi South of PARTHENON, Newton, AR
Built 1990 Load: 19.1 t ADT: 298
CR 37 Newton
FairOver: BRANCH of CAVE CREEK
2.68 mi South of SH 74, Newton, AR
Built 1950 Load: 20.9 t ADT: 50
US 65 Newton
FairOver: DITCH
.02 M S OF BOONE COL, Newton, AR
Built 1929 Load: 20.9 t ADT: 7,400
SH 123 Newton
FairOver: DAVIS CREEK
3.61 MI W JCT US 65, Newton, AR
Built 1969 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 1,600
SH 21 Newton
FairOver: SMITH CREEK
2.10 MI S OF BOXLEY, Newton, AR
Built 1962 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 420
SH 21 Newton
FairOver: MOORE CREEK
.20 MI S OF BOXLEY, Newton, AR
Built 1962 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 420
CR 32/5050 Newton
FairOver: RICHLAND CREEK
6.83 mi E of SH123, Newton, AR
Built 1935 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 190
CR 18 Newton
FairOver: OSAGE CREEK
0.67 North of SH 43, Newton, AR
Built 1960 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 147
CR 30 Newton
FairOver: PINEY CREEK
12.18 Mi South of DEER, Newton, AR
Built 1934 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 22
CR 76 Newton
FairOver: CREEK
1.02 Mi North of US 65B, Newton, AR
Built 1940 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 29
Choate St. W Grove
FairOver: MARSHALL CREEK
0.08 mi East of US 65 B, Newton, AR
Built 1956 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 27
SH 43 Newton
FairOver: PONCA CREEK
4.94 MI N JCT SH 21 & 43, Newton, AR
Built 1946 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 470
SH 123 Newton
FairOver: DITCH
4.12 MI S JCT US 65 & 123, Newton, AR
Built 1969 Load: 25.4 t ADT: 1,600
SH 74 Newton
FairOver: STREAM
.4 MI NE JCT SH 123, Newton, AR
Built 1985 Load: 25.4 t ADT: 380
SH 327 Newton
FairOver: LITTLE BUFFALO RIVER
4.02 MI S JCT SH 74 & 327, Newton, AR
Built 1939 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 642
SH 21 Newton
FairOver: BUFFALO RIVER
1.10 MI S. of BOXLEY, Newton, AR
Built 1962 Load: 26.8 t ADT: 420
SH 21 Newton
FairOver: BEECH CREEK
.75 MI S OF BOXLEY, Newton, AR
Built 1962 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 420
CR 8167 Newton
FairOver: PANTHER CREEK
.36 W JCT SH 327 &CR 8167, Newton, AR
Built 1978 Load: 28.1 t ADT: 70
SH 123 Newton
FairOver: BUFFALO RIVER
0.5 MI North of CARVER, Newton, AR
Built 1976 Load: 28.1 t ADT: 730
CR 37 Newton
FairOver: BRANCH
.65 SO JCT SH 74 & CR 37, Newton, AR
Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 132
CR 284 Newton Co.
FairOver: LEFT FORK of BIG CREEK
.06 MI E of McElroy Gap, Newton, AR
Built 2000 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 135
CR 109 Newton
FairOver: Osage Creek
0.1 Mi N of Hwy 43, Newton, AR
Built 1993 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 387
CR 20 Newton
FairOver: Henson Creek
1.06 West SH 327, Newton, AR
Built 2005 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 70
SH 123 Newton
FairOver: LAGRUE RIVER
1.0 MI SE JCT SH 74W &123, Newton, AR
Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 779
SH 74 Newton
FairOver: ROCK CREEK
5.53 M E OF JASPER, Newton, AR
Built 1977 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 380
SH 74 Newton
FairOver: SHELTON CREEK
7.63 M E JASPER, Newton, AR
Built 1977 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 380
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.