Total bridges
418
Public highway bridges in Santa Barbara County
County profile · official public datasets
Santa Barbara County, CA
418 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 51.4% rated Good, 42.8% Fair, 5.7% Poor.
- 418
- Public bridges
- 51.4%
- Good condition
- 5.7%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Santa Barbara County pairs a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.
- Top 34%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 5.7%
- Poor-condition share
- 418
- 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.
Santa Barbara County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Santa Barbara County ranks #20 of 58 California counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 5.7%). Santa Barbara County, California contains 418 public highway bridges. Roughly 51.4% are rated “Good,” 42.8% “Fair,” and 5.7% “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.
Good condition
51.4%
215 of 418 rated 7-9
Fair condition
42.8%
179 of 418 rated 5-6
Poor condition
5.7%
24 of 418 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#20 of 58
Among California counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 418 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 51.4% (215)
Fair 42.8% (179)
Poor 5.7% (24)
Santa Barbara County's Poor-condition bridges carry 440,464 vehicle crossings a day
That is 7.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 5.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 18,353 crossings a day against 13,892 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 418 of 418 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
59.6% of Santa Barbara County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
249 of the 418 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 51.4% 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 13.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
US HIGHWAY 101 NB over MARIA YGNACIO CREEK, built 1961, carries 60,500 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 24-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 440,464 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Santa Barbara County's bridges were built
418 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- pre-1900 1
Built before 1900
1 bridges
- 1900s 1
1900–1909
1 bridges
- 1910s 9
1910–1919
9 bridges
- 1920s 10
1920–1929
10 bridges
- 1930s 8
1930–1939
8 bridges
- 1940s 19
1940–1949
19 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
49 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
119 bridges
- 1970s 44
1970–1979
44 bridges
- 1980s 29
1980–1989
29 bridges
- 1990s 43
1990–1999
43 bridges
- 2000s 28
2000–2009
28 bridges
- 2010s 41
2010–2019
41 bridges
- 2020s 17
2020–2029
17 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 119 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 28.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1975, 5 years newer than the California average of 1970.
How Santa Barbara County compares with California's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 California counties nearest Santa Barbara County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 5.7% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1975 against a peer-group mean of 1967 is 8 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 57 California counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County | 444 | 50.7% | 40.5% | 8.8% | 1968 |
| Butte County | 437 | 31.8% | 62% | 6.2% | 1958 |
| Siskiyou County | 421 | 39% | 55.6% | 5.5% | 1971 |
| Santa Barbara County (this page) | 418 | 51.4% | 42.8% | 5.7% | 1975 |
| San Luis Obispo County | 401 | 47.6% | 46.6% | 5.7% | 1970 |
| Humboldt County | 396 | 38.9% | 54.3% | 6.8% | 1968 |
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 Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara County, both outside California so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside CA (418 bridges here).
- Lucas County, OH · 418 bridges
- Madison County, TN · 418 bridges
- Kay County, OK · 419 bridges
- Taylor County, TX · 419 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside CA (1975 here).
- Lane County, OR · avg 1975 · 1,010 bridges
- Fulton County, GA · avg 1975 · 775 bridges
- Westmoreland County, PA · avg 1975 · 620 bridges
- Monroe County, NY · avg 1975 · 615 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (179)
KINEVAN RD
FairOver: SAN JOSE CREEK
0.1 MI WEST OF SR 154, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1950 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 50
MOUNTAIN DR
FairOver: HOT SPRINGS CREEK
AT RIVEN ROCK RD, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1965 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 588
U.S. HIGHWAY 101
FairOver: STATE ROUTE 166
05-SB-101-88.60-SMRA, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1962 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 58,000
PATTERSON AVENUE
FairOver: ATASCADERO CREEK
1.0 MI S HOLLISTER AVE, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1967 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 2,711
NOGAL DRIVE
FairOver: CIENEGUITAS CREEK
0.25 MI S HOLLISTER AVE, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1993 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 2,500
STATE ROUTE 135
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO CREEK
05-SB-135-R7.22, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1964 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 3,050
SR 150 (RINCON RD)
FairOver: US HWY 101 (@PM R0.63)
05-SB-150-R0.01, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1971 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 4,800
VIA REAL
FairOver: TORO CREEK
0.1 MI W OF TORO CYN RD, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1968 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 4,458
PRIVATE DRIVE
FairOver: NOJOQUI CREEK
05-SB-101-54.40, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1956 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 10
TANGAIR ROAD
FairOver: UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
FROM MAIN GATE: TAKE CALI, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1959 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 300
STATE ROUTE 166
FairOver: ALISO CREEK
05-SB-166-R25.49, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1969 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 2,700
SOLOMON ROAD
FairOver: ORCUTT CREEK
1.2 MI W BLOSSMER RD, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1989 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 1,189
TEPUSQUET RD
FairOver: BUCKHORN CREEK
13.8 MI N FOXEN CANYON RD, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1957 Load: 42.8 t ADT: 344
SINALOA DR
FairOver: OAK CREEK
0.1 MI E OF SAN YSIDRO RD, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1973 Load: 43.4 t ADT: 426
FERNALD PT LN
FairOver: SAN YSIDRO CREEK
S OF US 101 AT MONTECITO, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1959 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 400
PARADISE RD
FairOver: LEWIS CREEK
4.5 MI EAST OF SR 154, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1970 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 726
ALAMO PINTADO RD
FairOver: ALAMO PINTADO CREEK
0.3 MI S BASE LINE AVE, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1978 Load: 48.3 t ADT: 5,739
STATE ROUTE 154
FairOver: STATE ROUTE 192
05-SB-154-R31.54, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1972 Load: 48.9 t ADT: 17,000
SAN ANTONIO ROAD
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO CREEK
0.3 MI W OF SR 135, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1989 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 760
CARPINTERIA AVE
FairOver: FRANKLIN CREEK
0.1 MI W OF HOLLY AVE, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1977 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 8,024
US HIGHWAY 101 NB
FairOver: TORO CREEK
05-SB-101-R6.79, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1952 Load: 51.8 t ADT: 37,500
PADARO LANE
FairOver: UP RR & AMTRAK
S OF US 101, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1968 Load: 52.8 t ADT: 962
HOT SPRINGS RD
FairOver: MONTECITO CREEK
0.65 MI N OF US 101, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1971 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 7,556
CARRILLO ST
FairOver: MISSION CREEK
WEST OF CASTILLO ST, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1963 Load: 54.1 t ADT: 30,000
FOXEN CANYON ROAD
FairOver: CAT CANYON CREEK
0.15 MI E PALMER RD, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1988 Load: 56.1 t ADT: 1,365
CARPINTERIA AVENUE
FairOver: SANTA MONICA CREEK
0.1 MI W SEVENTH ST, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1971 Load: 63.8 t ADT: 4,871
SEVENTH ST
FairOver: FRANKLIN CREEK
0.15 MI E OF CARP. AVE, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1977 Load: 68.0 t ADT: 3,214
REFUGIO RD-N101 ON
FairOver: CANADA DEL REFUGIO
05-SB-101-R36.65, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1974 Load: 80.4 t ADT: 250
EL RANCHO ROAD
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO CREEK
FROM MAIN GATE: TAKE CALI, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 2003 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 750
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.