County profile · official public datasets

Jefferson County, CO

464 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 33.8% rated Good, 59.9% Fair, 6.3% Poor.

464
Public bridges
33.8%
Good condition
6.3%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

40th
of 64 on Poor share
6.3%
Poor-condition share
464
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.

Jefferson County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Jefferson County ranks #40 of 64 Colorado counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 6.3%). Jefferson County, Colorado contains 464 public highway bridges. Roughly 33.8% are rated “Good,” 59.9% “Fair,” and 6.3% “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

464

Public highway bridges in Jefferson County

Good condition

33.8%

157 of 464 rated 7-9

Fair condition

59.9%

278 of 464 rated 5-6

Poor condition

6.3%

29 of 464 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#40 of 64

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

Condition distribution

Share of 464 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
33.8% (157)
Fair
59.9% (278)
Poor
6.3% (29)

Jefferson County's Poor-condition bridges carry 853,450 vehicle crossings a day

That is 10.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 6.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 29,429 crossings a day against 16,847 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 464 of 464 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

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

154 of the 464 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 33.8% 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 11.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 6 ML over SH 121 ML, built 1972, carries 101,000 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 29-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 853,450 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Jefferson County's bridges were built

464 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 93 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 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 Jefferson County compares with Colorado's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Colorado counties nearest Jefferson County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 6.3% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1984 against a peer-group mean of 1987 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Jefferson County and the 5 Colorado counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Larimer County 559 2%
Adams County 535 6.9%
Jefferson County (this page) 464 6.3%
Denver County 458 1.7%
Arapahoe County 391 7.2%
Mesa County 319 1.6%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside CO (464 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.

Fair-condition bridges (278)

SH 470 ML EBND

Fair

Over: SH 8 BEAR CREEK

MORRISON RD. INTERCHANGE, Jefferson, CO

Built 1989 Load: 66.0 t ADT: 35,000

SIMMS STREET

Fair

Over: CROKE CANAL

1.50 MI NORTH OF 64TH AVE, Jefferson, CO

Built 1995 Load: 69.4 t ADT: 12,247

SH 121 ML

Fair

Over: HIGHLINE CANAL

South of 92ND AVE., Jefferson, CO

Built 1968 Load: 81.6 t ADT: 43,000

SH 58 ML

Fair

Over: CROKE CANAL

EAST OF GOLDEN, Jefferson, CO

Built 1970 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 19,000

SH 93 ML

Fair

Over: TUCKER GULCH

1 MI NO OF JCT SH 58, Jefferson, CO

Built 1996 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 24,000

SH 74 ML

Fair

Over: SAWMILL GULCH

IN IDLEDALE, Jefferson, CO

Built 1999 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 3,300

US 285 ML

Fair

Over: NORTH TURKEY CREEK

6 MI W OF C470, Jefferson, CO

Built 1948 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 26,000

US 6 ML

Fair

Over: DRAW

1 Mi W of SH470, Jefferson, CO

Built 1951 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 32,000

SH 74 ML

Fair

Over: GAME CROSSING

NEAR BERGEN PARK, Jefferson, CO

Built 1996 Load: 90.8 t ADT: 18,000

EL DIENTE ST

Fair

Over: VAN BIBBER CREEK

0.1 M N OF 58TH AVENUE, Jefferson, CO

Built 1999 Load: 94.9 t ADT: 908

58TH AVE AND IND

Fair

Over: VAN BIBBER CREEK

.10 MI W OF INDEPENDENCE, Jefferson, CO

Built 2006 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 21,216

64TH PARKWAY

Fair

Over: S BLDR DIVERSION CANAL

0.3 MI EAST OF SH 93, Jefferson, CO

Built 2000 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 6,792

64TH AVENUE

Fair

Over: LOCAL DRAINAGE

1.1 MI EAST OF SH 93, Jefferson, CO

Built 2000 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 183

HARLAN STREET

Fair

Over: LITTLE DRY CREEK

0.2 MI SOUTH OF 80TH AVE, Jefferson, CO

Built 1970 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 2,165

SH 58 ML

Fair

Over: ARAPAHOE DITCH

1.6 MI E OF JCT SH 93, Jefferson, CO

Built 1970 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 19,000

SH 93 ML

Fair

Over: LEYDEN GULCH

6.3 MILES N. SH 58, Jefferson, CO

Built 1999 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 17,000

SH 93 ML

Fair

Over: RALSTON RESERVOIR OVRFLW

5.3 MI N OF JCT SH 58, Jefferson, CO

Built 1984 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 19,000

SH 8 ML

Fair

Over: DRAW

IN MORRISON, Jefferson, CO

Built 1934 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 4,000

I70 ML

Fair

Over: APEX GULCH

JUST E OF COLFAX EXIT, Jefferson, CO

Built 1968 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 87,000

US 6 ML

Fair

Over: DRAW

1.0 MI E OF INDIANA AVE, Jefferson, CO

Built 1947 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 63,000

SH 121 ML

Fair

Over: PED UNDERPASS DRAW

0.2 MI NO OF JCT SH 470, Jefferson, CO

Built 1964 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 20,000

SH121 ML-WADSWORTH

Fair

Over: DUTCH CREEK

.2 MI. S. OF COAL MINE RD, Jefferson, CO

Built 1965 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 29,000

SH 121 ML

Fair

Over: DEER CREEK

2.0 MI S OF JCT SH 470, Jefferson, CO

Built 1968 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 23,000

US 285 ML & RAMP

Fair

Over: PARMALEE GULCH

AT INDIAN HILLS RD INTERS, Jefferson, CO

Built 1993 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 27,000

US 285 ML

Fair

Over: ELK CREEK

SHAFFERS CROSSING, Jefferson, CO

Built 1958 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 17,000

ELDRIDGE STREET

Fair

Over: WEAVER CREEK

0.6 mi S. of Quincy Ave, Jefferson, CO

Built 2012 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 1,067

W. QUINCY AVENUE

Fair

Over: WEAVER CREEK

0.3 MI N of BELLEVIEW AVE, Jefferson, CO

Built 2006 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 9,838

COLLINS AVENUE

Fair

Over: LAKEWOOD GULCH

0.1 MI E OF SIMMS ST, Jefferson, CO

Built 1997 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 2,008
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.