County profile · official public datasets

Baca County, CO

106 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 21.7% rated Good, 72.6% Fair, 5.7% Poor.

106
Public bridges
21.7%
Good condition
5.7%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Baca County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.

36th
of 64 on Poor share
5.7%
Poor-condition share
106
public highway bridges
1963
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.

Baca County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Baca County ranks #36 of 64 Colorado counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 5.7%). Baca County, Colorado contains 106 public highway bridges. Roughly 21.7% are rated “Good,” 72.6% “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.

Total bridges

106

Public highway bridges in Baca County

Good condition

21.7%

23 of 106 rated 7-9

Fair condition

72.6%

77 of 106 rated 5-6

Poor condition

5.7%

6 of 106 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#36 of 64

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

Condition distribution

Share of 106 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
21.7% (23)
Fair
72.6% (77)
Poor
5.7% (6)

Baca County's Poor-condition bridges carry 656 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 5.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 109 crossings a day against 1,232 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 105 of 106 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

67% of Baca County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

71 of the 106 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 21.7% 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 64% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 160 ML over DRAW, built 1939, carries 420 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 6-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 656 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Baca County's bridges were built

106 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1930s, when 27 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 25.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 85 to 94 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1963, 19 years older than the Colorado average of 1982.

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

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

The 5 Colorado counties nearest Baca 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 1963 against a peer-group mean of 1981 is 18 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Baca County and the 5 Colorado counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Montrose County 118 2.5%
Baca County (this page) 106 5.7%
La Plata County 102 2%
Gunnison County 100 7%
Routt County 96 6.3%
Huerfano County 94 6.4%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside CO (106 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside CO (1963 here).

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

All 106 Good 23 Fair 77 Poor 6

Fair-condition bridges (77)

COUNTY ROAD Y

Fair

Over: NORTH FORK SAND ARROYO

.8 MI W OF CR 6, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 10.3 t ADT: 1

COUNTY ROAD Q

Fair

Over: WEST CARRIZO CREEK

1.2 MI E OF CR 0, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 10.3 t ADT: 23

COUNTY ROAD 17

Fair

Over: NORTH FORK LONE ROCK CRK

1.1 MI N OF CR Y, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 13.5 t ADT: 31

COUNTY ROAD 13

Fair

Over: NORTH FORK SAND ARROYO

.2 MI S OF RD T, Baca, CO

Built 1940 Load: 14.2 t ADT: 13

COUNTY ROAD 13

Fair

Over: TRIB N.FK LONE ROCK CRK

.2 S OF CR X, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 14.2 t ADT: 30

COUNTY ROAD 11

Fair

Over: TRIB. OF TWO BUTTES CRK

.4 MI S OF CR WW, Baca, CO

Built 1950 Load: 14.6 t ADT: 9

COUNTY ROAD 12

Fair

Over: BEAR CREEK

JUST S OF CR FF, Baca, CO

Built 1945 Load: 14.8 t ADT: 27

US 160 ML

Fair

Over: DRY CREEK

13.8 MI E OF JCT US 287, Baca, CO

Built 1947 Load: 14.8 t ADT: 580

COUNTY ROAD 12

Fair

Over: TRIBUTARY OF PLUM CREEK

1 MI S OF CR MM, Baca, CO

Built 1950 Load: 15.8 t ADT: 13

COUNTY ROAD J

Fair

Over: UNNAMED CREEK

1.2 MI E OF CR 13, Baca, CO

Built 1940 Load: 15.9 t ADT: 25

COUNTY ROAD TT.5

Fair

Over: UNNAMED CREEK

.7 MI N OF CR SS, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 16.5 t ADT: 45

COUNTY ROAD 2

Fair

Over: TRIB N.FK SAND ARROYO

1.8 MI S OF CR AA, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 16.6 t ADT: 6

COUNTY ROAD 10

Fair

Over: BEAR CREEK

.1 MI S OF CR FF, Baca, CO

Built 1940 Load: 16.7 t ADT: 53

COUNTY ROAD 10

Fair

Over: PLUM CREEK

1.9 MI N OF CR FF, Baca, CO

Built 1950 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 53

COUNTY ROAD AA.5

Fair

Over: LONE ROCK DRAW

W OF CR 24.3, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 17.5 t ADT: 37

COUNTY ROAD RR

Fair

Over: TRIB. OF TWO BUTTES CRK

2.2 MI E OF CR 12, Baca, CO

Built 1950 Load: 17.9 t ADT: 17

COUNTY ROAD J

Fair

Over: EAST CARRIZO CREEK

0.1 MI E OF CR 3.5, Baca, CO

Built 1973 Load: 18.4 t ADT: 29

COUNTY ROAD L

Fair

Over: WEST CARRIZO CREEK

3.6 MI E OF CR 0, Baca, CO

Built 1986 Load: 18.6 t ADT: 24

COUNTY ROAD 52

Fair

Over: BUFFALO CREEK

1.2 MI S OF SH 116, Baca, CO

Built 1964 Load: 18.7 t ADT: 72

COUNTY ROAD 39

Fair

Over: SAND ARROYO

0.5 MI N OF CR X, Baca, CO

Built 1957 Load: 19.1 t ADT: 6

US 160 ML

Fair

Over: CAT CREEK

4.2 MI E OF PRITCHETT, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 19.6 t ADT: 420

COUNTY ROAD KK

Fair

Over: FREEZEOUT CANYON CREEK

4.5 MI E OF CR 0, Baca, CO

Built 1979 Load: 21.0 t ADT: 11

COUNTY ROAD 18

Fair

Over: UNNAMED CREEK

2.5 MI S OF CR G, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 21.1 t ADT: 12

COUNTY ROAD 12

Fair

Over: TRIBUTARY OF PLUM CREEK

.4 MI N OF CR JJ, Baca, CO

Built 1950 Load: 21.2 t ADT: 14

COUNTY ROAD 37

Fair

Over: ANTELOPE CREEK

.9 MI N OF CR HH, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 22.1 t ADT: 89

COUNTY ROAD 17

Fair

Over: TRIBUTARY OF SAND ARROYO

JUST N OF CR R, Baca, CO

Built 1975 Load: 22.9 t ADT: 6

COUNTY ROAD 12

Fair

Over: TWO BUTTES CREEK

0.9 MI N OF CR RR, Baca, CO

Built 1979 Load: 23.4 t ADT: 24

COUNTY ROAD G

Fair

Over: UNNAMED CREEK

.9 MI E OF CR 13, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 23.5 t ADT: 3

COUNTY ROAD 17

Fair

Over: HORSE CREEK

1.3 MI N OF CR MM, Baca, CO

Built 1950 Load: 25.4 t ADT: 1

US 287 ML

Fair

Over: TWO BUTTES CREEK

17 Mi. N of Springfield, Baca, CO

Built 1992 Load: 27.5 t ADT: 3,500

COUNTY ROAD RR

Fair

Over: TRIB. OF HORSE CREEK

2.2 MI E OF CR 15, Baca, CO

Built 1950 Load: 28.2 t ADT: 14

COUNTY ROAD 43

Fair

Over: ANTELOPE CREEK

.2 MI SE OF CR KK, Baca, CO

Built 1965 Load: 28.9 t ADT: 49

COUNTY ROAD 6

Fair

Over: TRIB. OF HACKBERRY CRK

.1 MI S OF CR WW, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 29.8 t ADT: 3

COUNTY ROAD 6

Fair

Over: HACKBERRY CREEK

1.8 MI N OF CR TT.4, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 30.3 t ADT: 2

COUNTY ROAD 12

Fair

Over: PLUM CREEK

.8 MI S OF CR JJ, Baca, CO

Built 1930 Load: 30.9 t ADT: 21

COUNTY ROAD 36

Fair

Over: NORTH FORK CIMARRON RVR

.8 MI N OF CR M, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 30.9 t ADT: 48

COUNTY ROAD 39.4

Fair

Over: DRY CREEK

0.1 MI N OF CR CC, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 31.9 t ADT: 33

US 287 ML

Fair

Over: TRIB HORSE CREEK

9.7 MI N. OF SPRINGFIELD, Baca, CO

Built 1975 Load: 31.9 t ADT: 3,000

US 287 ML

Fair

Over: DRAW

4.6 MILES NORTH OF SPRING, Baca, CO

Built 2000 Load: 32.5 t ADT: 3,000

COUNTY ROAD 10

Fair

Over: TRIBUTARY OF PLUM CREEK

1.7 MI N OF CR SS, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 53

COUNTY ROAD 11

Fair

Over: SNAKE ARROYO

2 MI S OF CR VV, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 11

COUNTY ROAD 14

Fair

Over: TRIB. OF TWO BUTTES CRK

.1 MI S OF CR XX, Baca, CO

Built 1960 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1

COUNTY ROAD 23

Fair

Over: SAND ARROYO

3.5 MI S OF CR W, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 14

COUNTY ROAD 23

Fair

Over: TRIB. OF SAND ARROYO

2 MI N OF CR U, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 10

COUNTY ROAD 23

Fair

Over: TRIB. OF SAND ARROYO

.8 MI S OF CR W, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6

COUNTY ROAD 28

Fair

Over: TRIB N.FORK CIMARRON RVR

JUST N OF CR M, Baca, CO

Built 1938 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 24

COUNTY ROAD 34.5

Fair

Over: BEAR CREEK

2.2 MI N OF SH160, Baca, CO

Built 1970 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 43

COUNTY ROAD 44

Fair

Over: SAND ARROYO

0.1 MI N OF CR AA, Baca, CO

Built 1970 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 54

COUNTY ROAD 55

Fair

Over: N. FORK CIMARRON RIVER

1 MI N OF CR T, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 20

COUNTY ROAD 8

Fair

Over: SOUTH FORK SAND ARROYO

.2 Mi E OF CR 3, Baca, CO

Built 1935 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 13

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

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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.