County profile · official public datasets

Polk County, AR

221 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 20.8% rated Good, 66.5% Fair, 12.7% Poor.

221
Public bridges
20.8%
Good condition
12.7%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Polk 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.

70th
of 75 on Poor share
12.7%
Poor-condition share
221
public highway bridges
1965
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.

Polk County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Polk County ranks #70 of 75 Arkansas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 12.7%). Polk County, Arkansas contains 221 public highway bridges. Roughly 20.8% are rated “Good,” 66.5% “Fair,” and 12.7% “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

221

Public highway bridges in Polk County

Good condition

20.8%

46 of 221 rated 7-9

Fair condition

66.5%

147 of 221 rated 5-6

Poor condition

12.7%

28 of 221 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#70 of 75

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

Condition distribution

Share of 221 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
20.8% (46)
Fair
66.5% (147)
Poor
12.7% (28)

Polk County's Poor-condition bridges carry 19,108 vehicle crossings a day

That is 7.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 12.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 682 crossings a day against 599 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 221 of 221 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

60.6% of Polk County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

134 of the 221 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 20.8% 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 26.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 71 - Polk Co over Six Mile Creek, built 1940, carries 5,100 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 28-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 19,108 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Polk County's bridges were built

221 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1950s, when 47 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.3% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 65 to 74 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1965, 15 years older than the Arkansas average of 1980.

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

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

The 5 Arkansas counties nearest Polk County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 12.7% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1965 against a peer-group mean of 1981 is 16 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Polk County and the 5 Arkansas counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Saline County 231 3.9%
Yell County 227 1.3%
Hot Spring County 222 5%
Polk County (this page) 221 12.7%
Faulkner County 219 1.4%
Miller County 216 2.8%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside AR (221 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside AR (1965 here).

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

All 221 Good 46 Fair 147 Poor 28

Poor-condition bridges (28)

County Road 76

Poor

Over: Quachita River-Polk Co.

2.65 M SW US71 & CORD 76, Polk, AR

Built 1914 Load: 1.8 t ADT: 220

County Road 288

Poor

Over: Buffalo Creek - Polk Co.

0.85 MI N US 71., Polk, AR

Built 1915 Load: 1.8 t ADT: 300

County Road 67

Poor

Over: Big Fork Creek-Polk Co.

0.4 MILES N OF HWY 8, Polk, AR

Built 1945 Load: 1.8 t ADT: 62

County Road 285

Poor

Over: Six Mile Creek - Polk Co

0.03 MI S CO RD 34, Polk, AR

Built 1983 Load: 1.8 t ADT: 5

Polk Co RD 624-A

Poor

Over: Board Camp Creek

0.4 MI E JCT CO RD 57A, Polk, AR

Built 1983 Load: 1.8 t ADT: 69

Co Rd 18-Polk Co.

Poor

Over: LIttle Hickory Creek

0.23 MI N SH 246, Polk, AR

Built 1920 Load: 4.5 t ADT: 64

County Road 70-B

Poor

Over: Nesbitt Creek-Polk Co.

16.11MI E US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1960 Load: 5.4 t ADT: 100

County Road 67

Poor

Over: Little Lee Branch Polk

6.6MI S SH 88, Polk, AR

Built 1945 Load: 5.4 t ADT: 100

Co. Rd. 37 Polk Co

Poor

Over: Two Mile Creek Relief

3.28 MI S OLD POTTER, Polk, AR

Built 1923 Load: 7.3 t ADT: 221

County Road 2

Poor

Over: Carter Creek-Polk Co.

2.08 MI E US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1955 Load: 8.2 t ADT: 48

CR 38 - Polk Co.

Poor

Over: Mt. Fork River

3.10 MI W JCT 37 & 38, Polk, AR

Built 1905 Load: 8.2 t ADT: 144

County Road 67

Poor

Over: Big Fork Creek-Polk Co.

1.91 M S SH 88 & CO RD 67, Polk, AR

Built 1915 Load: 9.1 t ADT: 70

County Road 31

Poor

Over: Six Mile Creek - Polk Co

5.69 MI N SH 246&CO RD31, Polk, AR

Built 1992 Load: 9.1 t ADT: 901

Co Rd 109 Zone C

Poor

Over: Quachita River - Polk Co

Acorn, Polk, AR

Built 1929 Load: 10.0 t ADT: 40

County Road 37

Poor

Over: Paul Branch - Polk Co.

2.49 S OLD POTTER, Polk, AR

Built 1922 Load: 13.6 t ADT: 221

County Road 37

Poor

Over: Thompson Creek-Polk Co

0.68 MI S OF POTTER, Polk, AR

Built 1925 Load: 13.6 t ADT: 221

County Road 70

Poor

Over: Chances Creek-Polk Co.

0.16 MI E US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1936 Load: 14.5 t ADT: 334

State Highway 88

Poor

Over: Loftis Creek Polk Co.

8 MI E US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1952 Load: 20.0 t ADT: 1,400

State Highway 88

Poor

Over: Irons Fork Creek Polk Co

3.97 MI E JCT US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1955 Load: 20.0 t ADT: 2,250

CO RD 280 - E

Poor

Over: Barren Creek-Polk County

0.5 MI NO US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1981 Load: 20.9 t ADT: 82

FDR 76

Poor

Over: IRONS FORK

10.617 MI S OF HWY 270, Polk, AR

Built 1936 Load: 21.1 t ADT: 50

FDR 76

Poor

Over: IRONS FORK

7.957 MI SW OF HWY 270, Polk, AR

Built 1936 Load: 21.4 t ADT: 50

State Highway 88

Poor

Over: Ouachita River - Polk Co

3.26 MI E JCT US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1955 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 3,700

US 71 - Polk Co

Poor

Over: Six Mile Creek

1.5 MI S OF Hatfield, Polk, AR

Built 1940 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 5,100

CO RD 70 ZONE B

Poor

Over: Alex Branch-Polk Co.

3.70 M E JCT US71 & COR70, Polk, AR

Built 1937 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 334

State Highway 88

Poor

Over: Gap Creek-Polk County

6.51 MI E OF JCT US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1950 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 2,250

County Road 23

Poor

Over: Buffalo Creek - Polk Co.

4.0 MI E OF US 71 COVE, Polk, AR

Built 1940 Load: 28.1 t ADT: 100

County Road 35

Poor

Over: Mike Creek Polk Co.

1.98 MI SE US 71, Polk, AR

Built 1991 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 672

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

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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.