County profile · official public datasets

El Paso County, CO

686 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 31.3% rated Good, 65.5% Fair, 3.2% Poor.

686
Public bridges
31.3%
Good condition
3.2%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

El Paso County posts a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across large county bridge inventory.

Top 38%
lowest Poor share in state
3.2%
Poor-condition share
686
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.

El Paso County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, El Paso County ranks #24 of 64 Colorado counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 3.2%). El Paso County, Colorado contains 686 public highway bridges. Roughly 31.3% are rated “Good,” 65.5% “Fair,” and 3.2% “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

686

Public highway bridges in El Paso County

Good condition

31.3%

215 of 686 rated 7-9

Fair condition

65.5%

449 of 686 rated 5-6

Poor condition

3.2%

22 of 686 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#24 of 64

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

Condition distribution

Share of 686 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
31.3% (215)
Fair
65.5% (449)
Poor
3.2% (22)

El Paso County's Poor-condition bridges carry 190,132 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.9% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 3.2% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 8,642 crossings a day against 16,541 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 686 of 686 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

33.2% of El Paso County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

228 of the 686 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 31.3% 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 15% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

I 25 ML SBND over ACADEMY BLVD, built 1971, carries 28,500 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 22-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 190,132 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When El Paso County's bridges were built

686 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 117 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 17.1% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 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 El Paso County compares with Colorado's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Colorado counties nearest El Paso County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 3.2% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1984 against a peer-group mean of 1988 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for El Paso County and the 5 Colorado counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
El Paso County (this page) 686 3.2%
Weld County 614 4.7%
Larimer County 559 2%
Adams County 535 6.9%
Jefferson County 464 6.3%
Denver County 458 1.7%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside CO (686 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 686 Good 215 Fair 449 Poor 22

Good-condition bridges (215)

CHEYENNE CANYON RD

Good

Over: NORTH CHEYENNE CREEK

1.6 MI W EVANS AVENUE, El Paso, CO

Built 2022 Load: 7.1 t ADT: 655

BOULDER STREET

Good

Over: SHOOKS RUN

JUST E OF N CORONA STREET, El Paso, CO

Built 1995 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 7,057

RAMP TO SB ACADEMY

Good

Over: RAMP TO B ST

0.25 MI E OF B STREET, El Paso, CO

Built 2012 Load: 18.5 t ADT: 23,057

SH 94 ML

Good

Over: DRAW

8.1 MI E OF ELLICOTT, El Paso, CO

Built 1983 Load: 18.5 t ADT: 1,800

RAMP TO US24ML WB

Good

Over: SPRING CREEK R

OVER SPRING CREEK, El Paso, CO

Built 1995 Load: 19.7 t ADT: 4,100

ACADEMY BLVD SB

Good

Over: B ST US ARMY RR

1.2 MI W OF I-25, El Paso, CO

Built 2010 Load: 19.8 t ADT: 21,043

I 25 ML SBND

Good

Over: SAND CREEK

14 MI. N. OF PUEBLO, El Paso, CO

Built 1958 Load: 22.1 t ADT: 17,500

PEYTON HIGHWAY

Good

Over: W FK BLACK SQUIRREL CK

2.0 MI SOUTH OF SH 94, El Paso, CO

Built 1994 Load: 22.4 t ADT: 413

Route 5

Good

Over: Drainage channel

50 ft N of junc w/ Rte 4, El Paso, CO

Built 1984 Load: 22.5 t ADT: 100

SHOUP ROAD

Good

Over: KETTLE CREEK

.75 MI W OF BLACK FS ROAD, El Paso, CO

Built 1989 Load: 22.5 t ADT: 4,226

MILITARY RES BNDRY

Good

Over: Drainage channel

500 YDS S RTE 5, El Paso, CO

Built 1984 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 100

SH 16 ML

Good

Over: FOUNTAIN CREEK

JUST E. OF SECURITY INT., El Paso, CO

Built 2009 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 37,000

US 24 ML

Good

Over: DRAW

6.3 MI E OF PEYTON, El Paso, CO

Built 1959 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 5,500

EBND ACADEMY BLVD

Good

Over: RAMP TO WBND ACADEMY

0.8 MI W OF I-25, El Paso, CO

Built 2010 Load: 23.7 t ADT: 20,497

BECKERS LANE

Good

Over: FOUNTAIN CREEK

150 FT N OF MANITOU AVE, El Paso, CO

Built 2021 Load: 24.6 t ADT: 1,622

SH 115 ML

Good

Over: DRAW

11.3 MI S / SH83 CO SPGS, El Paso, CO

Built 1960 Load: 24.9 t ADT: 8,900

WBND ACADEMY BLVD

Good

Over: RAMP D TO WBND ACADEMY

0.8 MI W OF I-25, El Paso, CO

Built 2012 Load: 25.3 t ADT: 22,809

SH 16 ML WBND

Good

Over: US 85 ML BNSF RR UP RR

0.8 MI E OF JCT I 25, El Paso, CO

Built 2009 Load: 25.9 t ADT: 18,500

CASCADE AVENUE

Good

Over: RAILROAD VAN BUREN

0.4 MI SOUTH OF FILLMORE, El Paso, CO

Built 2000 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 7,659

JANITELL ROAD

Good

Over: FOUNTAIN CREEK

0.4 MI N OF CIRCLE DR, El Paso, CO

Built 1990 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 4,575

SH 21B NBND ML

Good

Over: KETTLE CREEK

NBND POWERS, El Paso, CO

Built 2005 Load: 27.5 t ADT: 37,000

US 24 ML WBND

Good

Over: UNION BLVD

US24 HANCOCK TO QUIVIRA, El Paso, CO

Built 1993 Load: 27.7 t ADT: 21,000

CHEYENNE CANYON RD

Good

Over: NORTH CHEYENNE CREEK

1.1 MI W EVANS ANENUE, El Paso, CO

Built 2022 Load: 27.9 t ADT: 1,577

US 24 ML

Good

Over: DRAW

0.7 MI. NE OF FALCON, El Paso, CO

Built 1999 Load: 27.9 t ADT: 17,000

NEVADA AVE SB

Good

Over: CSE RR VAN BUREN C

0.2 MI S OF FILLMORE ST, El Paso, CO

Built 1949 Load: 28.2 t ADT: 7,863

I25 SBND ON RAMP

Good

Over: MARK DABLING BLVD/UPRR

IN COLORADO SPGS, El Paso, CO

Built 2008 Load: 28.3 t ADT: 57,000

VAN TEYLINGEN DR

Good

Over: TEMPLETON GAP

0.2 MI S OF AUSTIN BLUFFS, El Paso, CO

Built 1980 Load: 28.4 t ADT: 8,392

SH21-SB POWERS BLV

Good

Over: WOODMEN RD

SBND ML, El Paso, CO

Built 2008 Load: 28.7 t ADT: 28,000

SH 21-POWERS NB

Good

Over: WOODMEN RD.

NE COLO. SPRINGS, El Paso, CO

Built 2008 Load: 28.7 t ADT: 28,000

US 24 ML

Good

Over: DRAW

5.1 MI NE OF FALCON, El Paso, CO

Built 1995 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 11,000

CASCADE AVE

Good

Over: CHEYENNE CREEK

JUST N 0F CHEYENNE ROAD, El Paso, CO

Built 1987 Load: 29.2 t ADT: 6,059

WOODMEN RD

Good

Over: ACADEMY BLVD.

AT ACADEMY, El Paso, CO

Built 2011 Load: 29.2 t ADT: 43,035

SH 21B NBND ML

Good

Over: PINE CREEK

NB POWERS BLVD N/ CO SPRN, El Paso, CO

Built 2014 Load: 29.2 t ADT: 18,500

US 85 ML

Good

Over: CREWS GULCH

3.5 MI NW OF FOUNTAIN, El Paso, CO

Built 2001 Load: 29.6 t ADT: 18,000

RAMAH HIGHWAY

Good

Over: HORSE CREEK

JUST S OF HANISCH ROAD, El Paso, CO

Built 1999 Load: 29.8 t ADT: 165

MARK DABLING BLVD

Good

Over: SOUTH DOUGLAS CREEK

0.5 MI N OF FILLMORE, El Paso, CO

Built 1984 Load: 30.4 t ADT: 2,007

VENETUCCI BLVD

Good

Over: FISHERS CANYON CREEK

N. OF ACADEMY, El Paso, CO

Built 2019 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 2,573

US 24 BYPASS

Good

Over: EAST FORK SAND CREEK

1.2 MI. S. OF JCT US 24 M, El Paso, CO

Built 1994 Load: 31.4 t ADT: 60,000

OLD PUEBLO ROAD

Good

Over: FOUNTAIN CREEK

0.2 MI S OF HANOVER ROAD, El Paso, CO

Built 1989 Load: 31.9 t ADT: 905

I 25 ML NBND

Good

Over: DRAW

3.2 MI NW OF EL PASO-PUEB, El Paso, CO

Built 1929 Load: 32.0 t ADT: 19,000

MARKSHEFFEL RD

Good

Over: SAND CREEK

0.4 MI N OF WOODMEN RD, El Paso, CO

Built 2021 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 7,740

Butts Road

Good

Over: Tank Trail Bravo

Butts and Bad Toelz RDs, El Paso, CO

Built 2016 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 24,500

US 24 ML EBND

Good

Over: SAND CREEK

EAST OF MURRAY BLVD, El Paso, CO

Built 1975 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 15,000

US24 ML

Good

Over: WALDO CANYON

.6 MI W OF JCT 24 BUS. RT, El Paso, CO

Built 2014 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 23,000

OLD RANCH ROAD

Good

Over: SH 21 ML

1.3 MI SE of INTERQUEST, El Paso, CO

Built 2016 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 10,041

I25 ML NBND

Good

Over: MARK DABLING/UPRR

IN COLORADO SPRINGS, El Paso, CO

Built 2008 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 57,000

RAMP TO I 25 NBND

Good

Over: FOUNTAIN CREEK

IN COLORADO SPRINGS, El Paso, CO

Built 2017 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 58,000

SH 94 ML

Good

Over: DRAW

7.4 MI E OF JCT US 24, El Paso, CO

Built 1983 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 9,900

SH 115 ML

Good

Over: LITTLE FOUNTAIN CREEK

CO-115 7 Mi S of I-25, El Paso, CO

Built 2004 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 13,000

US 85 ML

Good

Over: I25 ML

AT JCT I25 ML, El Paso, CO

Built 2002 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 10,000

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

Related

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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.