Total bridges
102
Public highway bridges in La Plata County
County profile · official public datasets
La Plata County, CO
102 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 54.9% rated Good, 43.1% Fair, 2% Poor.
- 102
- Public bridges
- 54.9%
- Good condition
- 2%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
La Plata County posts a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- Top 23%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 2%
- Poor-condition share
- 102
- public highway bridges
- 1986
- 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.
La Plata County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, La Plata County ranks #15 of 64 Colorado counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 2%). La Plata County, Colorado contains 102 public highway bridges. Roughly 54.9% are rated “Good,” 43.1% “Fair,” and 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.
Good condition
54.9%
56 of 102 rated 7-9
Fair condition
43.1%
44 of 102 rated 5-6
Poor condition
2%
2 of 102 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#15 of 64
Among Colorado counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 102 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 54.9% (56)
Fair 43.1% (44)
Poor 2% (2)
La Plata County's Poor-condition bridges carry 283 vehicle crossings a day
That is 0.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 2% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 142 crossings a day against 2,653 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 101 of 102 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
28.4% of La Plata County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
29 of the 102 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 54.9% 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 67.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
CO RD 245 over FLORIDA RIVER, built 1984, carries 191 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 283 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When La Plata County's bridges were built
102 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1910s 1
1910–1919
1 bridges
- 1920s 1
1920–1929
1 bridges
- 1930s 1
1930–1939
1 bridges
- 1940s 3
1940–1949
3 bridges
- 1950s 5
1950–1959
5 bridges
- 1960s 7
1960–1969
7 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
18 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
17 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
22 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
10 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
14 bridges
- 2020s 3
2020–2029
3 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 22 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.6% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1986) matches the Colorado average (1982).
How La Plata County compares with Colorado's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Colorado counties nearest La Plata County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 2% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1986 against a peer-group mean of 1978 is 8 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 63 Colorado counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baca County | 106 | 21.7% | 72.6% | 5.7% | 1963 |
| La Plata County (this page) | 102 | 54.9% | 43.1% | 2% | 1986 |
| Gunnison County | 100 | 36% | 57% | 7% | 1981 |
| Routt County | 96 | 43.8% | 50% | 6.3% | 1984 |
| Huerfano County | 94 | 30.9% | 62.8% | 6.4% | 1975 |
| Grand County | 88 | 43.2% | 51.1% | 5.7% | 1986 |
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 La Plata 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 La Plata County, both outside Colorado so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside CO (102 bridges here).
- Clarke County, GA · 102 bridges
- Pulaski County, IN · 102 bridges
- Clark County, KS · 102 bridges
- Sibley County, MN · 102 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside CO (1986 here).
- El Paso County, TX · avg 1986 · 783 bridges
- Caddo County, LA · avg 1986 · 682 bridges
- Polk County, IA · avg 1986 · 545 bridges
- Canadian County, OK · avg 1986 · 493 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (44)
IRR# COUNTY RD 334
FairOver: ALLISON DITCH
.5 MI E OF CR 523, La Plata, CO
Built 1940 Load: 8.7 t ADT: 138
COUNTY ROAD 228
FairOver: FLORIDA CANAL
.1 MI S OF CR 225, La Plata, CO
Built 1964 Load: 11.2 t ADT: 1,172
COUNTY ROAD 501
FairOver: VALLECITO CREEK
0.5 MI E OF N VALLECITO, La Plata, CO
Built 1971 Load: 12.6 t ADT: 640
US 160 ML
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
5 MI E OF JCT US 550, La Plata, CO
Built 1953 Load: 14.7 t ADT: 10,000
CR 124A
FairOver: La Plata River
9.4 Mi N of Junc w/ US160, La Plata, CO
Built 2018 Load: 17.4 t ADT: 1
IRR BIA RTE 101
FairOver: LOS PINOS RIVER
0.4 KM E. OF JCT 322 &172, La Plata, CO
Built 1955 Load: 17.6 t ADT: 200
PERINS CANYON DR
FairOver: LIGHTNER CREEK
1.0 MI W OF HWY 550, La Plata, CO
Built 1978 Load: 18.8 t ADT: 627
PRIVATE LAND ACCES
FairOver: LIGHTNER CREEK AR
S.W. EDGE OF DURANGO, La Plata, CO
Built 1973 Load: 18.8 t ADT: 19,000
IRR# COUNTY RD 322
FairOver: LOS PINOS RIVER
.2 MI E OF SH 172, La Plata, CO
Built 1961 Load: 19.3 t ADT: 85
US 160 ML
FairOver: CITY ST_ANIMAS RVR
S. EDGE OF DURANGO, La Plata, CO
Built 1979 Load: 20.0 t ADT: 35,000
COUNTY ROAD 240
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
E OF JCT CR 243/240, La Plata, CO
Built 1983 Load: 23.3 t ADT: 2,095
IRR# US 550 ML
FairOver: ANIMAS RIVER
3 MI NORTH OF NEW MEXICO, La Plata, CO
Built 1957 Load: 23.4 t ADT: 8,100
COUNTY ROAD 240
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
2.5 MI NE OF CR 225, La Plata, CO
Built 1982 Load: 25.7 t ADT: 3,235
IRR# SH 140 ML
FairOver: LA PLATA RIVER
9 MI NORTH OF RED MESA, La Plata, CO
Built 1958 Load: 26.5 t ADT: 1,500
IRR# SH 140 ML
FairOver: LA PLATA RIVER
5.5 MILES NORTH OF BREEN, La Plata, CO
Built 1956 Load: 26.6 t ADT: 1,500
SH 151 ML
FairOver: DEVIL CREEK
5.3 MI NW OF ALLISON, La Plata, CO
Built 1980 Load: 26.9 t ADT: 1,500
US 160 ML
FairOver: LOS PINOS RIVER
23.8 MI EAST OF JCT US 55, La Plata, CO
Built 1962 Load: 27.9 t ADT: 8,600
IRR# SH 140 ML
FairOver: LONG HOLLOW CREEK
3 MI NORTH OF NEW MEXICO, La Plata, CO
Built 1964 Load: 28.8 t ADT: 1,800
SH 172 ML
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
10 MI NO OF IGNACIO, La Plata, CO
Built 1971 Load: 29.3 t ADT: 5,800
IRR# COUNTY RD 334
FairOver: ALLISON DITCH
2 MI N OF SH 151, La Plata, CO
Built 1989 Load: 30.4 t ADT: 210
FDR 682
FairOver: CANYON CREEK
19.3 MI NNE OF DURANGO, La Plata, CO
Built 1964 Load: 30.5 t ADT: 20
COUNTY ROAD 234
FairOver: FLORIDA CANAL
.3 MI N OF CR 237, La Plata, CO
Built 1984 Load: 31.8 t ADT: 2,598
IRR BIA RTE 107
FairOver: LOS PINOS RIVER
1.3KM NORTH OF IGNACIO CO, La Plata, CO
Built 1974 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 200
COUNTY ROAD 234
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
2 MI SW OF CR 225, La Plata, CO
Built 2006 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,438
US 550 ML
FairOver: ANIMAS RIVER
IN DURANGO, La Plata, CO
Built 1910 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 28,000
US 550 ML
FairOver: DSNG RR
4 MI N OF HERMOSA, La Plata, CO
Built 1977 Load: 33.2 t ADT: 3,200
IRR# COUNTY RD 105
FairOver: CHERRY CREEK
7 MI S OF SH 160, La Plata, CO
Built 1985 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 42
COUNTY ROAD 243
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
1.0 MI S OF LEMON RES., La Plata, CO
Built 1992 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 483
US 160 ML
FairOver: ANIMAS RIVER
0.9 MI E OF JCT SH 550, La Plata, CO
Built 1974 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 30,000
COUNTY ROAD 252
FairOver: ANIMAS RIVER
.3 MI SE OF SH 550, La Plata, CO
Built 1983 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 1,734
COUNTY ROAD 234
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
.2 MI S OF CR 237, La Plata, CO
Built 1986 Load: 38.7 t ADT: 2,885
IRR# COUNTY RD 307
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
2.6 MI SW OF LA PLATA APT, La Plata, CO
Built 1989 Load: 39.7 t ADT: 130
COUNTY ROAD 223
FairOver: FLORIDA RIVER
.4 MI NE OF SH 140, La Plata, CO
Built 1926 Load: 40.0 t ADT: 84
COUNTY ROAD 250
FairOver: ANIMAS RVR OVF ELBERT CR
.2 MI E OF SH 550, La Plata, CO
Built 1989 Load: 40.0 t ADT: 519
COUNTY ROAD 501
FairOver: GRIMES CREEK
0.2 MI E OF N VALLECITO, La Plata, CO
Built 1992 Load: 40.3 t ADT: 946
COUNTY ROAD 321
FairOver: SPRING CREEK
2.3 MI N OF CR 325, La Plata, CO
Built 1995 Load: 40.4 t ADT: 165
US 550 SBND ML
FairOver: DRAW
2 MI NORTH OF NEW MEXICO, La Plata, CO
Built 1999 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 4,050
US 550 SBND ML
FairOver: DRAW
2 MI. NORTH OF NEW MEXICO, La Plata, CO
Built 2008 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 4,050
US 160 ML
FairOver: ANIMAS RIVER
INT. OF 550 & 160, La Plata, CO
Built 1968 Load: 45.1 t ADT: 17,000
County Road 521
FairOver: Beaver Creek
4.4 Mi S. of Bayfield, La Plata, CO
Built 1985 Load: 51.2 t ADT: 1,349
US 160 ML
FairOver: LIGHTNER CREEK
S.W. EDGE OF DURANGO, La Plata, CO
Built 1970 Load: 55.2 t ADT: 19,000
US550 ML
FairOver: LITTLE CASCADE CREEK
8.4 MI S COAL BANK PASS, La Plata, CO
Built 1980 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 3,200
US 160 ML
FairOver: LIGHTNER CREEK
W. EDGE OF DURANGO, La Plata, CO
Built 1970 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 12,000
US 160 ML
FairOver: LIGHTNER CREEK
W. EDGE OF DURANGO, La Plata, CO
Built 1971 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 12,000
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.