Total bridges
28
Public highway bridges in Dolores County
County profile · official public datasets
Dolores County, CO
28 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 17.9% rated Good, 75% Fair, 7.1% Poor.
- 28
- Public bridges
- 17.9%
- Good condition
- 7.1%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Dolores 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.
- 51st
- of 64 on Poor share
- 7.1%
- Poor-condition share
- 28
- public highway bridges
- 1964
- 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.
Dolores County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Dolores County ranks #51 of 64 Colorado counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 7.1%). Dolores County, Colorado contains 28 public highway bridges. Roughly 17.9% are rated “Good,” 75% “Fair,” and 7.1% “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
17.9%
5 of 28 rated 7-9
Fair condition
75%
21 of 28 rated 5-6
Poor condition
7.1%
2 of 28 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#51 of 64
Among Colorado counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 28 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 17.9% (5)
Fair 75% (21)
Poor 7.1% (2)
Dolores County's Poor-condition bridges carry 3,406 vehicle crossings a day
That is 11.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 7.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,703 crossings a day against 57 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 28 of 28 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
64.3% of Dolores County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
18 of the 28 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 17.9% 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 99.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
US 491 ML over ALKALI CREEK, built 1937, carries 3,400 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 2-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 3,406 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Dolores County's bridges were built
28 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1930s
1930–1939
8 bridges
- 1940s 1
1940–1949
1 bridges
- 1950s 3
1950–1959
3 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
5 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
4 bridges
- 1980s 1
1980–1989
1 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
5 bridges
- 2000s 1
2000–2009
1 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1930s, when 8 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 28.6% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 85 to 94 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1964, 18 years older than the Colorado average of 1982.
How Dolores County compares with Colorado's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Colorado counties nearest Dolores County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 7.1% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1964 against a peer-group mean of 1976 is 12 years older.
Showing the 5 closest of 63 Colorado counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinsdale County | 31 | 25.8% | 74.2% | 0% | 1979 |
| Crowley County | 28 | 39.3% | 57.1% | 3.6% | 1980 |
| Dolores County (this page) | 28 | 17.9% | 75% | 7.1% | 1964 |
| Phillips County | 27 | 7.4% | 74.1% | 18.5% | 1973 |
| Teller County | 27 | 25.9% | 66.7% | 7.4% | 1977 |
| Mineral County | 26 | 34.6% | 65.4% | 0% | 1973 |
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 Dolores 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 Dolores County, both outside Colorado so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside CO (28 bridges here).
- Lafayette County, FL · 28 bridges
- Union County, FL · 28 bridges
- Lanier County, GA · 28 bridges
- Luce County, MI · 28 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside CO (1964 here).
- Bergen County, NJ · avg 1964 · 577 bridges
- Morris County, NJ · avg 1964 · 508 bridges
- Baltimore city County, MD · avg 1964 · 374 bridges
- Ross County, OH · avg 1964 · 356 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
All bridges (28)
RIVER STREET
FairOver: SILVER CREEK
150 FT N of W SODA ST, Dolores, CO
Built 1999 Load: 18.5 t ADT: 20
US 491 ML
FairOver: DOVE CREEK
DOVE CREEK, Dolores, CO
Built 1935 Load: 19.1 t ADT: 4,700
County Road S
FairOver: Dolores River
6 miles E of Cahone CO, Dolores, CO
Built 1945 Load: 19.8 t ADT: 50
COUNTY ROAD 38
FairOver: FISH CREEK
300 Yds S of DOL-008, Dolores, CO
Built 1960 Load: 20.7 t ADT: 21
FDR 526
FairOver: BEAVER CREEK
19 MILES NNE OF DOLORES, Dolores, CO
Built 1975 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 35
FDR 504
FairOver: CABIN CANYON
8.2 MI ON FDR 504, Dolores, CO
Built 1937 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 27
FDR 688
FairOver: WEST DOLORES RIVER
14.5 MI NE OF DOLORES, Dolores, CO
Built 1959 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 15
SH 141 ML
FairOver: MONUMENT CREEK
0.5 MI NO OF JCT US 666 M, Dolores, CO
Built 1960 Load: 24.8 t ADT: 460
FDR 726
FairOver: FISH CREEK
12 MI WNW OF RICO, Dolores, CO
Built 1986 Load: 26.6 t ADT: 34
SH 145 ML
FairOver: DOLORES RIVER
0.4 MILE NORTH OF RICO, Dolores, CO
Built 1968 Load: 27.9 t ADT: 2,100
FDR 504
FairOver: NARRAGUINNEP CANYON
11.6 MI ON FDR 504, Dolores, CO
Built 1937 Load: 30.9 t ADT: 20
FDR 514
FairOver: CALF CREEK
21.4 MI ON FDR 514, Dolores, CO
Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 10
US 491 ML
FairOver: DRAW
5.9 MI NW OF CAHONE, Dolores, CO
Built 1937 Load: 36.2 t ADT: 3,400
US 491 ML
FairOver: CROSS CANYON
5.3 MI NW OF CAHONE, Dolores, CO
Built 1937 Load: 36.5 t ADT: 3,400
COUNTY ROAD 2
FairOver: CHICO CREEK
1.5 MI N of SH491, Dolores, CO
Built 1995 Load: 38.7 t ADT: 56
COUNTY ROAD D
FairOver: DISAPPOINTMENT CRK TRIB
AT N END of COUNTY, Dolores, CO
Built 1999 Load: 40.0 t ADT: 6
PICKER STREET
FairOver: DOLORES RIVER
800 FT W of SH145, Dolores, CO
Built 1991 Load: 44.1 t ADT: 119
US 491 ML
FairOver: COAL BED CREEK
5.2 MI NW OF JCT SH 141 M, Dolores, CO
Built 1970 Load: 58.3 t ADT: 2,600
US 491 ML
FairOver: MONUMENT CREEK
0.3 MI NW OF JCT SH 141 M, Dolores, CO
Built 1958 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 3,200
US 491ML
FairOver: SHARPS CREEK
2.4 MILES NW OF CAHONE, Dolores, CO
Built 1937 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 3,400
US 491 ML
FairOver: CAHONE CREEK
24.6 MI NW OF JCT US 160, Dolores, CO
Built 1937 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 3,200
FDR 578
GoodOver: DOLORES RIVER
6.0 MI NNE OF RICO, Dolores, CO
Built 1955 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 69
FDR 535
GoodOver: BURRO CREEK
24.3 MI ON FDR 535, Dolores, CO
Built 2001 Load: 27.5 t ADT: 52
FDR 514
GoodOver: PLATEAU CREEK
21.4 MI ON FDR 514, Dolores, CO
Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 12
COUNTY ROAD 38
GoodOver: FISH CREEK
13 MI NE OF SH 145, Dolores, CO
Built 1995 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 136
FDR 686
GoodOver: STONER MESA
.20 MI ON FDR 686, Dolores, CO
Built 1969 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 18
COUNTY ROAD D
PoorOver: DISAPPOINTMENT CREEK
4.5 MI NW CR 31, Dolores, CO
Built 1966 Load: 23.0 t ADT: 6
US 491 ML
PoorOver: ALKALI CREEK
1.5 MILES NW CAHONE, Dolores, CO
Built 1937 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 3,400
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.