County profile · official public datasets

Monterey County, CA

377 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 56.8% rated Good, 35.5% Fair, 7.7% Poor.

377
Public bridges
56.8%
Good condition
7.7%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

35th
of 58 on Poor share
7.7%
Poor-condition share
377
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.

Monterey County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Monterey County ranks #35 of 58 California counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 7.7%). Monterey County, California contains 377 public highway bridges. Roughly 56.8% are rated “Good,” 35.5% “Fair,” and 7.7% “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

377

Public highway bridges in Monterey County

Good condition

56.8%

214 of 377 rated 7-9

Fair condition

35.5%

134 of 377 rated 5-6

Poor condition

7.7%

29 of 377 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#35 of 58

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

Condition distribution

Share of 377 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
56.8% (214)
Fair
35.5% (134)
Poor
7.7% (29)

Monterey County's Poor-condition bridges carry 93,587 vehicle crossings a day

That is 2.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 7.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 3,227 crossings a day against 11,871 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 377 of 377 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

68.4% of Monterey County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

258 of the 377 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 56.8% 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 30.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SANBORN RD over UP RR & AMTRAK, built 1948, carries 28,392 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 29-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 93,587 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Monterey County's bridges were built

377 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 127 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 33.7% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1970) matches the California average (1970).

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

How Monterey County compares with California's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 California counties nearest Monterey County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 7.7% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1970 against a peer-group mean of 1967 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 57 California counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Monterey County and the 5 California counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Humboldt County 396 6.8%
Stanislaus County 386 13.5%
Monterey County (this page) 377 7.7%
Solano County 373 7.8%
San Mateo County 361 10%
Mendocino County 357 7.6%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside CA (377 bridges here).

Similar average build year

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

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

All 377 Good 214 Fair 134 Poor 29

Poor-condition bridges (29)

RUBY CANYON ROAD

Poor

Over: DRAINAGE KD RESERVOIR

S OLD MAN CANYON SEC 13 W, Monterey, CA

Built 2002 ADT: 1

PALISADES ROAD

Poor

Over: NACIMIENTO RIVER

N STEVE CREEK SEC 27, Monterey, CA

Built 1994 ADT: 1

RANGE ROAD

Poor

Over: DRAINAGE SAN ANTONIO RIV

N TULE AIRSTRIP SEC 25, Monterey, CA

Built 1965 ADT: 10

LOCKWOOD SAN LUCAS

Poor

Over: SALINAS RIVER

0.1 MI W OF US 101, Monterey, CA

Built 1915 Load: 10.0 t ADT: 530

CARMEL VALLEY RD

Poor

Over: TASH CREEK

4.5 MI N/W ARROYO SECO RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1959 Load: 13.6 t ADT: 290

PRIEST VALLEY RD

Poor

Over: LEWIS CREEK

0.15 MI E OF SH 198, Monterey, CA

Built 1948 Load: 14.9 t ADT: 200

NORTH FORK ROAD

Poor

Over: LEWIS CREEK

0.1 MI NE SH 198, Monterey, CA

Built 1948 Load: 15.6 t ADT: 200

MAIN CAMP FIRE RD

Poor

Over: BIG SUR RIVER

PFEIFFER BIG SUR ST PARK, Monterey, CA

Built 2009 Load: 16.2 t ADT: 100

LEWIS CREEK RD

Poor

Over: LEWIS CREEK

0.25 MI E OF RTE 25, Monterey, CA

Built 1930 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 150

GARRAPATOS ROAD

Poor

Over: PALO COLORADO CREEK

1.2 MI SE SH 1, Monterey, CA

Built 1961 Load: 17.5 t ADT: 130

CARMEL VALLEY RD

Poor

Over: FINCH CREEK

14.1 MI NW ARROYO SECO RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1947 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 290

RELIZ CANYON RD

Poor

Over: DRAINAGE MISSION CREEK

N MISSION CREEK RD SEC 3, Monterey, CA

Built 1994 Load: 18.3 t ADT: 1

RELIZ CYN RD

Poor

Over: RELIZ CREEK

0.6 MI S/O ELM AVE, Monterey, CA

Built 1953 Load: 18.5 t ADT: 150

CARMEL VALLEY RD

Poor

Over: PALOMA CREEK

6.3 MI N ARROYO SECO RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1959 Load: 19.4 t ADT: 290

GONZALES RIVER RD

Poor

Over: SALINAS RIVER

0.2 MI E RIVER RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1930 Load: 20.1 t ADT: 1,800

VINEYARD CANYON RD

Poor

Over: CHOLAME CREEK

0.1 MI W SLACKS CANYON RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1950 Load: 23.7 t ADT: 210

MONTE RD

Poor

Over: SALINAS RIVER

0.75 MI N DEL MONTE BLVD, Monterey, CA

Built 1943 Load: 26.6 t ADT: 2,200

BIG SANDY ROAD

Poor

Over: BIG SANDY CREEK

2 MI W INDIAN VALLEY RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1969 Load: 26.6 t ADT: 200

SARGENTS ROAD

Poor

Over: PANCHO RICO CREEK

0.2 MI S PANCHO RICO RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1935 Load: 26.9 t ADT: 890

LEWIS CREEK RD

Poor

Over: LEWIS CREEK

2.6 ME E OF RTE 25, Monterey, CA

Built 1947 Load: 31.8 t ADT: 150

SANBORN RD

Poor

Over: UP RR & AMTRAK

0.3 MI N ABBOT ST, Monterey, CA

Built 1967 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 28,392

US HIGHWAY 101 SB

Poor

Over: BRADLEY RD

05-MON-101-R7.94, Monterey, CA

Built 1965 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 8,100

PARKFLD COALNGA RD

Poor

Over: LITTLE CHOLAME CREEK

0.03 MI E VINEYARD CYN RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1960 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 170

CARMEL VALLEY RD

Poor

Over: FINCH CREEK

13.6 MI NW ARROYO SECO RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1963 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 290

STATE ROUTE 1

Poor

Over: LIMEKILN CREEK

05-MON-001-20.95, Monterey, CA

Built 1957 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 2,000

SANBORN RD

Poor

Over: UP RR & AMTRAK

0.3 MI N ABBOT ST, Monterey, CA

Built 1948 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 28,392

MILPITAS ROAD

Poor

Over: DRAINAGE SAN ANTONIO RIV

W BEAR CANYON SEC 2/5, Monterey, CA

Built 2006 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 10

US HIGHWAY 101 NB

Poor

Over: UP RR AMTRAK FRONT ST

05-MON-101-62.70, Monterey, CA

Built 1960 Load: 46.0 t ADT: 18,200

PRKFLD COALINGA RD

Poor

Over: LITTLE CHOLAME CREEK

3 MI N VINEYARD CANYON RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1971 Load: 54.1 t ADT: 240

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.