County profile · official public datasets

Arapahoe County, CO

391 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 26.1% rated Good, 66.8% Fair, 7.2% Poor.

391
Public bridges
26.1%
Good condition
7.2%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

52nd
of 64 on Poor share
7.2%
Poor-condition share
391
public highway bridges
1984
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.

Arapahoe County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Arapahoe County ranks #52 of 64 Colorado counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 7.2%). Arapahoe County, Colorado contains 391 public highway bridges. Roughly 26.1% are rated “Good,” 66.8% “Fair,” and 7.2% “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

391

Public highway bridges in Arapahoe County

Good condition

26.1%

102 of 391 rated 7-9

Fair condition

66.8%

261 of 391 rated 5-6

Poor condition

7.2%

28 of 391 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#52 of 64

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

Condition distribution

Share of 391 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
26.1% (102)
Fair
66.8% (261)
Poor
7.2% (28)

Arapahoe County's Poor-condition bridges carry 313,856 vehicle crossings a day

That is 4.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 7.2% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 11,209 crossings a day against 18,155 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 391 of 391 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

33.8% of Arapahoe County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

132 of the 391 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 26.1% 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 14.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 285 ML over LITTLE DRY CREEK, built 1955, carries 46,000 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 313,856 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Arapahoe County's bridges were built

391 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 85 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.7% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1984) matches the Colorado average (1982).

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

How Arapahoe County compares with Colorado's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Colorado counties nearest Arapahoe County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 7.2% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1984 against a peer-group mean of 1983 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 63 Colorado counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Arapahoe County and the 5 Colorado counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Jefferson County 464 6.3%
Denver County 458 1.7%
Arapahoe County (this page) 391 7.2%
Mesa County 319 1.6%
Boulder County 311 2.3%
Pueblo County 264 4.5%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside CO (391 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside CO (1984 here).

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

All bridges (391)

E-470

Good

Over: Murphy Creek

17.78 MI from I-25, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1997 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 40,388

EAST CALEY DR

Good

Over: PINEY CREEK

0.1 MI NE OF E. EUCLID DR, Arapahoe, CO

Built 2012 Load: 51.6 t ADT: 249

SADDLEROCK LN.

Good

Over: PINEY CREEK TRIB

200 FT E OF LIVERPOOL ST, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1998 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 1,730

BROOKHAVEN LANE

Good

Over: LOCAL DRAINAGE

JUST S OF BOWLES AVENUE, Arapahoe, CO

Built 2000 Load: 55.2 t ADT: 304

ORCHARD RD

Good

Over: HIGHLINE CANAL

1 MI WEST OF HOLLY STREET, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1990 Load: 59.3 t ADT: 2,514

PEORIA STREET

Good

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

0.4 MI N OF ARAPAHOE ROAD, Arapahoe, CO

Built 2002 Load: 61.1 t ADT: 7,843

SH 83 ML

Good

Over: DRAW

13.7 MI NO OF JCT SH 86, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1978 Load: 68.8 t ADT: 41,000

US 36 ML

Good

Over: DRAW

0.5 MI E OF JCT I 70, Arapahoe, CO

Built 2022 Load: 74.5 t ADT: 3,500

DELAWARE STREET

Good

Over: LITTLES CREEK

AT WEST STERNE PKWY, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1999 Load: 80.4 t ADT: 1,723

SECURITY DRIVE

Good

Over: LOCAL DRAINAGE

.1 MI WEST OF SABLE BLVD, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1996 Load: 80.6 t ADT: 652

SH 83 RAMP

Good

Over: Multi-use Path

0.1 MI SW ARAPAHOE ROAD, Arapahoe, CO

Built 2015 Load: 86.5 t ADT: 41,000

E. FREMONT DR

Good

Over: DOVE CREEK

.2 MI E OF JORDAN RD, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1985 Load: 98.4 t ADT: 1,205

ALEXANDER DRIVE

Good

Over: EAST TOLLGATE CREEK

0.1 MI E OF AURORA PKWY, Arapahoe, CO

Built 2005 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 4,138

WINDERMERE ST

Poor

Over: HIGHLINE CANAL

0.93 MI S OF RIDGE RD, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1964 Load: 10.0 t ADT: 299

US 285 ML

Poor

Over: LITTLE DRY CREEK

HAMPDEN AT SHERMAN, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1955 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 46,000

ALAMEDA AVE

Poor

Over: I 225 ML

ALAMEDA OVER I225, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1969 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 38,305

BROADWAY

Poor

Over: LITTLE DRY CREEK

0.1 MI N OF US 285, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1935 Load: 23.8 t ADT: 31,496

COLORADO BLVD

Poor

Over: LITTLE DRY CREEK

0.4 MI. S. OF ORCHARD RD, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1970 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 4,036

ORCHARD RD

Poor

Over: HIGHLINE CANAL

.3 MI WEST OF UNIV BLVD, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1965 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 10,077

DRY CREEK RD

Poor

Over: WILLOW CREEK

.1 MI E OF MONACO, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1972 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 3,964

I 70 STRASBURG SPU

Poor

Over: UP RR

0.15 MI N OF JCT I 70 ML, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1962 Load: 28.0 t ADT: 4,400

SH 177 ML

Poor

Over: LITTLE DRY CREEK

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1965 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 29,000

I 70 ML WBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROAD 197

7.4 MI W OF DEERTRAIL SPU, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1964 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 6,000

I 70 ML EBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROAD 197

4.9 MI E OF JCT US 36 (BY, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1964 Load: 29.6 t ADT: 6,000

COUNTY ROAD 38

Poor

Over: MIDDLE BIJOU CREEK

2.7 MI W OF US 40, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1987 Load: 29.7 t ADT: 146

SH 88 ML

Poor

Over: BEAR CREEK

0.1 MI S of JCT US285, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1966 Load: 30.0 t ADT: 21,000

US 36 ML

Poor

Over: EAST BIJOU CREEK

7.1 MI E OF BYERS, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1966 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 1,100

US 40 ML

Poor

Over: EAST BIJOU CREEK

2.7 MI NW OF DEER TRAIL, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1966 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 330

I 70 SERVICE RD

Poor

Over: RATTLESNAKE CREEK SR

4.4 MI E OF JCT US 36 (BY, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1931 Load: 31.0 t ADT: 303

US 36 ML

Poor

Over: DRAW

2.4 MI E OF JCT I 70, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1931 Load: 35.2 t ADT: 3,400

I 70 ML EBND

Poor

Over: I 70 BUSS RT

IN DEERTRAIL, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1965 Load: 35.5 t ADT: 6,000

I 70 ML EBND

Poor

Over: US 40 FRONTAGE ROAD

7.8 MI E OF JCT US 36, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1965 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 6,000

I 70 ML WBND

Poor

Over: US 40 FRONTAGE RD

4.6 MI W OF JCT DEERTRAIL, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1965 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 6,000

I 70 ML WBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROAD 201

6.2 MI W OF JCT DEERTRAIL, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1964 Load: 43.3 t ADT: 6,000

I 70 ML EBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROAD 201

6.1 MI E OF JCT US 36 (BY, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1964 Load: 43.3 t ADT: 6,000

I 70 ML WBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROADS 31N 125

2 MI W OF JCT SH 79, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1960 Load: 44.3 t ADT: 13,000

I 70 ML EBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROADS 31N 125

9.4 MI E OF JCT US 36, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1960 Load: 44.3 t ADT: 13,000

I 70 ML WBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROADS 26N 105

2 MI E OF WATKINS INTERCH, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1960 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 13,000

I 70 ML EBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROADS 26N 105

2 MI E OF WATKINS INTERCH, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1960 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 13,000

I 70 ML WBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROADS 28N 113

5 MI W OF JCT SH 79, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1960 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 13,000

I 70 ML EBND

Poor

Over: COUNTY ROADS 28N 113

6.4 MI E OF JCT US 36, Arapahoe, CO

Built 1960 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 13,000
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.