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.
Poor-condition bridges (24)
US HIGHWAY 101 SB
PoorOver: NOJOQUI CREEK
05-SB-101-55.00, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1956 Load: 7.8 t ADT: 11,000
DE LA VINA ST
PoorOver: MISSION CREEK
0.1 MI N ALAMAR AVE, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1916 Load: 15.6 t ADT: 11,250
US HIGHWAY 101 NB
PoorOver: NOJOQUI CREEK
05-SB-101-55.00, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1956 Load: 18.8 t ADT: 11,000
BAILARD AVENUE
PoorOver: US HIGHWAY 101
05-SB-101-1.62-CARP, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1963 Load: 22.4 t ADT: 700
STATE ROUTE 166
PoorOver: BRANCH CANYON
05-SB-166-64.19, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1943 Load: 23.0 t ADT: 4,500
YANONALI STREET
PoorOver: LAGUNA DRAINAGE CHANNEL
0.1 MI EAST OF GARDEN ST, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1994 Load: 23.3 t ADT: 8,100
CLARK AVE
PoorOver: US HIGHWAY 101
05-SB-101-82.18, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1966 Load: 24.9 t ADT: 15,000
US HIGHWAY 101 NB
PoorOver: CASTILLO STREET
05-SB-101-R14.19-SB, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1963 Load: 25.3 t ADT: 54,500
FLORADALE AVE
PoorOver: SANTA YNEZ RIVER
0.8 MI N CENTRAL AVE, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1969 Load: 26.6 t ADT: 7,009
US HIGHWAY 101 NB
PoorOver: MARIA YGNACIO CREEK
05-SB-101-20.95, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1961 Load: 28.8 t ADT: 60,500
STATE STREET
PoorOver: MISSION CREEK
0.01 MI INTX RTE 225, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1991 Load: 30.1 t ADT: 7,130
US HIGHWAY 101 SB
PoorOver: SAN JOSE CREEK
05-SB-101-21.62, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1946 Load: 31.8 t ADT: 60,500
UNION VALLY PKWAY
PoorOver: US HIGHWAY 101
05-SB-101-83.45, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 2013 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 10,020
MATTHEWS STREET
PoorOver: SAN PEDRO CREEK
JUST WEST OF FAIRVIEW, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 2005 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,400
STATE ROUTE 217
PoorOver: SAN JOSE CREEK
05-SB-217-1.02-SB, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1963 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 12,500
US HIGHWAY 101 SB
PoorOver: UP RR & AMTRAK
05-SB-101-R0.26, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1971 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 32,500
ALISAL ROAD
PoorOver: SANTA YNEZ RIVER
0.8 MI S SR 246, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1971 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,712
US HIGHWAY 101 NB
PoorOver: SAN JOSE CREEK
05-SB-101-21.62, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1961 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 60,500
US HIGHWAY 101 NB
PoorOver: UP RR & AMTRAK
05-SB-101-R0.25, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1971 Load: 46.3 t ADT: 32,500
ISLAY ST
PoorOver: MISSION CREEK
AT CASTILLO ST, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1982 Load: 47.6 t ADT: 700
AVE OF THE FLAGS
PoorOver: SANTA YNEZ RIVER
0.6 MI SOUTH OF SR 246, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1949 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 3,000
US HIGHWAY 101 SB
PoorOver: REFUGIO ROAD
05-SB-101-R36.62, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1974 Load: 55.1 t ADT: 16,000
US HIGHWAY 101 NB
PoorOver: REFUGIO ROAD
05-SB-101-R36.62, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1974 Load: 55.1 t ADT: 16,000
MALIBU DR
PoorOver: FRANKLIN CREEK
BTWN STERLING & TOMOL DR, Santa Barbara, CA
Built 1976 Load: 58.0 t ADT: 2,443
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.