Total bridges
84
Public highway bridges in Chaffee County
County profile · official public datasets
Chaffee County, CO
84 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 28.6% rated Good, 65.5% Fair, 6% Poor.
- 84
- Public bridges
- 28.6%
- Good condition
- 6%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Chaffee 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.
- 39th
- of 64 on Poor share
- 6%
- Poor-condition share
- 84
- public highway bridges
- 1973
- 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.
Chaffee County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Chaffee County ranks #39 of 64 Colorado counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 6%). Chaffee County, Colorado contains 84 public highway bridges. Roughly 28.6% are rated “Good,” 65.5% “Fair,” and 6% “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
28.6%
24 of 84 rated 7-9
Fair condition
65.5%
55 of 84 rated 5-6
Poor condition
6%
5 of 84 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#39 of 64
Among Colorado counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 84 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 28.6% (24)
Fair 65.5% (55)
Poor 6% (5)
Chaffee County's Poor-condition bridges carry 13,087 vehicle crossings a day
That is 6.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4.8% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 3,272 crossings a day against 2,804 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 83 of 84 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
44% of Chaffee County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
37 of the 84 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 28.6% 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 65.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
US 285 ML over DRAW, built 1957, carries 8,600 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 5-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 13,087 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Chaffee County's bridges were built
84 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1900s 2
1900–1909
2 bridges
- 1910s 1
1910–1919
1 bridges
- 1930s
1930–1939
17 bridges
- 1940s 4
1940–1949
4 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
7 bridges
- 1960s 5
1960–1969
5 bridges
- 1970s 4
1970–1979
4 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
17 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
11 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
7 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
9 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1930s, when 17 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 85 to 94 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1973, 9 years older than the Colorado average of 1982.
How Chaffee County compares with Colorado's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Colorado counties nearest Chaffee County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 6% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1973 against a peer-group mean of 1976 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 63 Colorado counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand County | 88 | 43.2% | 51.1% | 5.7% | 1986 |
| Elbert County | 85 | 11.8% | 82.4% | 5.9% | 1968 |
| Chaffee County (this page) | 84 | 28.6% | 65.5% | 6% | 1973 |
| Moffat County | 80 | 28.8% | 65% | 6.3% | 1973 |
| Clear Creek County | 77 | 36.4% | 57.1% | 6.5% | 1978 |
| Washington County | 75 | 16% | 77.3% | 6.7% | 1975 |
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 Chaffee 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 Chaffee County, both outside Colorado so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside CO (84 bridges here).
- Elbert County, GA · 84 bridges
- Glynn County, GA · 84 bridges
- Paulding County, GA · 84 bridges
- Dickinson County, IA · 84 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside CO (1973 here).
- Jefferson County, AL · avg 1973 · 1,068 bridges
- Erie County, NY · avg 1973 · 906 bridges
- Davidson County, TN · avg 1973 · 832 bridges
- Lancaster County, PA · avg 1973 · 801 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Good-condition bridges (24)
County Road 194
GoodOver: DRAW in State Park
2.5 mi. east US 285, Chaffee, CO
Built 2010 Load: 23.0 t ADT: 7,900
NFSR 292
GoodOver: CHALK CREEK
JUST N OF CR 162, Chaffee, CO
Built 1989 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 9
HOT SPRINGS RD.
GoodOver: PONCHA CREEK
.2 MI S of US 50, Chaffee, CO
Built 2004 Load: 24.4 t ADT: 154
US 50 ML
GoodOver: WELDON CREEK
3.2 MI W OF PONCHA SPGS., Chaffee, CO
Built 2003 Load: 31.6 t ADT: 2,800
US 24 ML
GoodOver: DRAW / STOCK PASS
9.8 MI NE OF JCT US 285, Chaffee, CO
Built 2008 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,700
COUNTY ROAD 371
GoodOver: ARKANSAS RIVER
1.6 MI N OF MAIN STREET, Chaffee, CO
Built 1987 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 487
COUNTY ROAD 107
GoodOver: SOUTH ARKANSAS RIVER
1.1 MI S OF SALIDA, Chaffee, CO
Built 1985 Load: 33.1 t ADT: 1,176
COUNTY ROAD 301
GoodOver: ARKANSAS RIVER
.2 MI NE OF US 285, Chaffee, CO
Built 1990 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 198
US 24 ML
GoodOver: DRAW
9.1 MI NE OF JCT US 285, Chaffee, CO
Built 1937 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 6,700
3025: THE GATE BRI
GoodOver: Lake Fork Gunnison River
27 mi SW of Gunnison CO, Chaffee, CO
Built 2013 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 25
COUNTY ROAD 340
GoodOver: COTTONWOOD CREEK
.1 MI NW OF CR 306, Chaffee, CO
Built 1991 Load: 35.1 t ADT: 129
COUNTY RD 350
GoodOver: COTTONWOOD CREEK
0.5 MI WEST OF SH 24, Chaffee, CO
Built 2001 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 2,180
Little River Lane
GoodOver: South Arkansas River
.2 Mi SE of E. Ouray, Chaffee, CO
Built 2013 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 54
COUNTY ROAD 292
GoodOver: CHALK CREEK
Just N of CR 162, Chaffee, CO
Built 1989 Load: 39.7 t ADT: 79
US 285 ML
GoodOver: WILDLIFE CROSSING
_, Chaffee, CO
Built 2019 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 9,700
US 24 ML
GoodOver: UP RR
0.05 MI NE OF JCT US 285, Chaffee, CO
Built 2014 Load: 44.7 t ADT: 7,800
COUNTY ROAD 306
GoodOver: COTTONWOOD CREEK
6 MI W OF US 24, Chaffee, CO
Built 1990 Load: 46.0 t ADT: 277
US 24 ML
GoodOver: CLEAR CRK RESV SPILLWAY
2.5 MI SE OF GRANITE, Chaffee, CO
Built 1983 Load: 56.1 t ADT: 2,700
US 285 ML
GoodOver: DRAW
5.6 MI N. OF PONCHA SPRGS, Chaffee, CO
Built 1967 Load: 81.0 t ADT: 5,500
Poncha Springs Ln
GoodOver: South Arkansas River
0.1 Mi S OF US 50, Chaffee, CO
Built 2014 Load: 86.2 t ADT: 475
US 24 ML
GoodOver: SHIELDS GULCH
5.5 MI NE OF JCT US 285, Chaffee, CO
Built 1937 Load: 87.8 t ADT: 6,700
US 24 ML
GoodOver: CLEAR CREEK RES OUTLET
2.1 MI E OF GRANITE, Chaffee, CO
Built 1983 Load: 95.6 t ADT: 2,700
COUNTY ROAD 165
GoodOver: UNNAMED DRAW
.8 MI N of CR 160, Chaffee, CO
Built 1995 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 57
US 50 ML
GoodOver: N.FK.SOUTH ARKANSAS RVR
0.1 MI E OF MAYSVILLE, Chaffee, CO
Built 2003 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 2,800
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.