County profile · official public datasets

Tulare County, CA

589 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 42.4% rated Good, 54.2% Fair, 3.4% Poor.

589
Public bridges: 42.4%
Good condition: 3.4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Tulare County pairs a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.

Top 14%
lowest Poor share in state: 3.4%
Poor-condition share: 589
public highway bridges: 1959
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.

Tulare County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Tulare County ranks #8 of 58 California counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 3.4%). Tulare County, California contains 589 public highway bridges. Roughly 42.4% are rated “Good,” 54.2% “Fair,” and 3.4% “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

589

Public highway bridges in Tulare County

Good condition

42.4%

250 of 589 rated 7-9

Fair condition

54.2%

319 of 589 rated 5-6

Poor condition

3.4%

20 of 589 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#8 of 58

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

Condition distribution

Share of 589 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good

42.4% (250)

Fair

54.2% (319)

Poor

3.4% (20)

Tulare County's Poor-condition bridges carry 50,800 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 3.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 2,540 crossings a day against 6,277 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 589 of 589 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

84% of Tulare County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

495 of the 589 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 42.4% 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 42.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

STATE ROUTE 99 NB over N BRANCH TULE RIVER, built 1949, carries 21,500 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 20-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 50,800 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

1910s

9
1920s

20
1930s

54
1940s

144
1950s

135
1960s

98
1970s

56
1980s

17
1990s

11
2000s

16
2010s

24
2020s

5

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1940s, when 144 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 24.4% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 75 to 84 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1959, 11 years older than the California average of 1970.

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

The 5 California counties nearest Tulare County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 3.4% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1959 against a peer-group mean of 1970 is 11 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Tulare County and the 5 California counties closest to it in inventory size
County	Bridges	Good	Fair	Poor	Avg. built
Alameda County	658	35.3%	55.2%	9.6%	1973
San Joaquin County	644	33.7%	57.1%	9.2%	1968
Contra Costa County	618	42.6%	46.9%	10.5%	1977
Sonoma County	609	24.1%	69%	6.9%	1967
Tulare County (this page)	589	42.4%	54.2%	3.4%	1959
Merced County	528	32.2%	59.5%	8.3%	1967

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside CA (589 bridges here).

Dane County, WI · 590 bridges
Knox County, TN · 588 bridges
Butler County, KS · 591 bridges
McPherson County, KS · 586 bridges

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside CA (1959 here).

Barton County, KS · avg 1959 · 449 bridges
Nassau County, NY · avg 1959 · 328 bridges
Marion County, KS · avg 1959 · 324 bridges
Hampshire County, MA · avg 1959 · 259 bridges

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

All 589 Good 250 Fair 319 Poor 20

All bridges (589)

Sort:

ROAD 272

Good

Over: DEER CREEK

0.3 MI S OF AVE 120, Tulare, CA

Built 1967 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 25

STATE ROUTE 65

Good

Over: WHITE RIVER

06-TUL-065-R5.12, Tulare, CA

Built 1968 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 8,550

ROAD 152

Good

Over: MIDDLE FORK TULE RIVER

1.2 MI NORTH OF AVE 168, Tulare, CA

Built 1948 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 950

SR 137 EB (TULARE)

Good

Over: ST RTE 99 (@PM 29.57)

06-TUL-137-16.63-TUL, Tulare, CA

Built 1952 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 14,000

SAND CREEK RD

Good

Over: SAND CREEK

.15 MI S OF FRE CO LINE, Tulare, CA

Built 1947 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 150

ROAD 244 (JAYE ST)

Good

Over: TULE RIVER

0.4 MI N OF SR 190, Tulare, CA

Built 1970 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 13,300

ROAD 244

Good

Over: LEWIS CREEK

0.16 MI N OF AVE 220, Tulare, CA

Built 1970 Load: 42.8 t ADT: 250

AVE 320

Good

Over: KETCHUM DITCH

.18 MI W OF R196, Tulare, CA

Built 1958 Load: 42.8 t ADT: 125

STATE ROUTE 43

Good

Over: TULE RIVER

06-TUL-043-R19.91, Tulare, CA

Built 1976 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 3,900

STATE ROUTE 190

Good

Over: TULE RIVER

06-TUL-190-26.65, Tulare, CA

Built 1958 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 6,000

ROAD 208

Good

Over: TULE RIVER

0.3 MI S HENDERSON AVE, Tulare, CA

Built 1951 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 700

STATE ROUTE 198

Good

Over: YOKOHL CREEK

06-TUL-198-21.82, Tulare, CA

Built 1971 Load: 48.9 t ADT: 7,100

AVE 398

Good

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

0.1 MI W OF SR 245, Tulare, CA

Built 1986 Load: 49.2 t ADT: 50

W198-N99 CONNECTOR

Good

Over: UP RR

06-TUL-198-R3.85L, Tulare, CA

Built 1954 Load: 51.2 t ADT: 4,450

E COURT AVE

Good

Over: STATE ROUTE 99

06-TUL-099-12.80, Tulare, CA

Built 1956 Load: 51.8 t ADT: 2,950

RD.22S02

Good

Over: RD 22S02/NOBE YOUNG CR

NO DATA ENTERED, Tulare, CA

Built 1971 Load: 52.8 t ADT: 31

SR 190

Good

Over: SR 65

06-TUL-190-R15.21-PTRV, Tulare, CA

Built 1971 Load: 60.3 t ADT: 17,400

AVE 56 (CO RD J22)

Good

Over: STATE ROUTE 99

06-TUL-099-7.17, Tulare, CA

Built 1955 Load: 60.6 t ADT: 2,500

M348 S FORK DR

Good

Over: S FORK KAWEAH RIVER

1.34 MI SE OF RD M347, Tulare, CA

Tulare County Bridge Snapshot

Condition distribution

Tulare County's Poor-condition bridges carry 50,800 vehicle crossings a day

84% of Tulare County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

One structure carries 42.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

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

Nationwide counties with similar inventory size or average build year

Similar inventory size

Similar average build year

All bridges (589)

ROAD 272

STATE ROUTE 65

ROAD 152

SR 137 EB (TULARE)

SAND CREEK RD

ROAD 244 (JAYE ST)

ROAD 244

AVE 320

STATE ROUTE 43

STATE ROUTE 190

ROAD 208

STATE ROUTE 198

AVE 398

W198-N99 CONNECTOR

E COURT AVE

RD.22S02

SR 190

AVE 56 (CO RD J22)

M348 S FORK DR

AVENUE 404

MOUNTAIN RD 109

M 112

ROAD 16

AVENUE 394

CENTER STREET

AVENUE 120

ROAD M112

ROAD 16

ROAD 100

STATE ROUTE 198

STATE ROUTE 99 NB

PARK AVE

ROAD 168

STATE ROUTE 190

SR 216 & AVE 344

RD 284

SR 137 WB (TULARE)

R144

R 180

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