County profile · official public datasets

Meriwether County, GA

135 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 37% rated Good, 48.1% Fair, 14.8% Poor.

135
Public bridges: 37%
Good condition: 14.8%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Meriwether 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.

158th
of 159 on Poor share: 14.8%
Poor-condition share: 135
public highway bridges: 1972
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.

Meriwether County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Meriwether County ranks #158 of 159 Georgia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 14.8%). Meriwether County, Georgia contains 135 public highway bridges. Roughly 37% are rated “Good,” 48.1% “Fair,” and 14.8% “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

135

Public highway bridges in Meriwether County

Good condition

37%

50 of 135 rated 7-9

Fair condition

48.1%

65 of 135 rated 5-6

Poor condition

14.8%

20 of 135 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#158 of 159

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

Condition distribution

Share of 135 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good

37% (50)

Fair

48.1% (65)

Poor

14.8% (20)

Meriwether County's Poor-condition bridges carry 5,977 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 14.8% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 299 crossings a day against 1,795 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 135 of 135 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

49.6% of Meriwether County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

67 of the 135 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 37% 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 35.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SR 362 over CSX RAILROAD, built 1960, carries 2,120 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 20-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 5,977 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

1920s

1
1930s

6
1940s

19
1950s

20
1960s

16
1970s

20
1980s

20
1990s

14
2000s

8
2010s

5
2020s

6

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1950s, when 20 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 14.8% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 65 to 74 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1972, 5 years older than the Georgia average of 1977.

How Meriwether County compares with Georgia's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Georgia counties nearest Meriwether County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 14.8% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1972 against a peer-group mean of 1979 is 7 years older.

Showing the 5 closest of 158 Georgia counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Meriwether County and the 5 Georgia counties closest to it in inventory size
County	Bridges	Good	Fair	Poor	Avg. built
Henry County	140	86.4%	12.1%	1.4%	1988
Bulloch County	139	80.6%	19.4%	0%	1974
Meriwether County (this page)	135	37%	48.1%	14.8%	1972
Gordon County	133	68.4%	30.1%	1.5%	1979
Lowndes County	130	83.8%	14.6%	1.5%	1981
Whitfield County	130	53.8%	44.6%	1.5%	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 Meriwether 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 Meriwether County, both outside Georgia so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside GA (135 bridges here).

Nevada County, CA · 135 bridges
Steuben County, IN · 135 bridges
Warren County, IN · 135 bridges
Boone County, IA · 135 bridges

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside GA (1972 here).

Santa Clara County, CA · avg 1972 · 964 bridges
Madison County, AL · avg 1972 · 710 bridges
Kern County, CA · avg 1972 · 668 bridges
York County, PA · avg 1972 · 569 bridges

Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.

All 135 Good 50 Fair 65 Poor 20

All bridges (135)

Sort:

TIGNER ROAD

Fair

Over: FLAT SHOAL CREEK

2 MI S OF ODESSADALE, Meriwether, GA

Built 2001 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 230

SR 18

Fair

Over: SIMS BRANCH

4 MI E OF GREENVILLE, Meriwether, GA

Built 1933 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 3,320

SR 18

Fair

Over: WALNUT CREEK TRIB

IN GREENVILLE, Meriwether, GA

Built 1933 Load: 34.4 t ADT: 3,320

RED OAK CREEK RD

Fair

Over: LONG BRANCH

2 MI E OF PRIMROSE, Meriwether, GA

Built 1978 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 60

SMITH-TIDWELL ROAD

Fair

Over: PANTHER CREEK

2.5 MI N OF ROCKY MOUNT, Meriwether, GA

Built 1989 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 121

McWILLIAMS-BARBER

Fair

Over: RED OAK CREEK

5.8 MI SE OF LUTHERSVILLE, Meriwether, GA

Built 1982 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 50

ROCKY MT ROAD

Fair

Over: BEAR CREEK

5 MI NW OF ALVATON, Meriwether, GA

Built 1984 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 220

ROCKY MT ROAD

Fair

Over: WHITE OAK CREEK

5 MI NW OF ALVATON, Meriwether, GA

Built 1989 Load: 78.0 t ADT: 220

I-85

Fair

Over: YELLOW JACKET CREEK TRIB

2.3 MI NW OF LONE OAK, Meriwether, GA

Built 1977 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 55,800

E.H. McCLAIN ROAD

Fair

Over: PIGEON CREEK TRIB

1 MI NE OF MANCHESTER, Meriwether, GA

Built 1955 Load: 97.9 t ADT: 70

US 27 ALT./ SR. 41

Fair

Over: PARKS CREEK

4 MI N OF GREENVILLE, Meriwether, GA

Built 1941 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 4,700

I-85

Fair

Over: YELLOW JACKET CREEK

0.2 MI S OF COWETA CO LN, Meriwether, GA

Built 1977 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 55,800

TENNEY-NELSON RD

Fair

Over: FLAT CREEK

1 MI SE OF LONE OAK, Meriwether, GA

Built 1992 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 300

JOHN G BROWN ROAD

Fair

Over: FLINT RIVER TRIB

5 MI SE OF WOODBURY, Meriwether, GA

Built 1980 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 30

PIGEON CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: PIGEON CREEK

1MI NORTH OF MANCHESTER, Meriwether, GA

Meriwether County Bridge Snapshot

Condition distribution

Meriwether County's Poor-condition bridges carry 5,977 vehicle crossings a day

49.6% of Meriwether County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

One structure carries 35.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

How Meriwether County compares with Georgia's closest counties by inventory size

Nationwide counties with similar inventory size or average build year

Similar inventory size

Similar average build year

All bridges (135)

TIGNER ROAD

SR 18

SR 18

RED OAK CREEK RD

SMITH-TIDWELL ROAD

McWILLIAMS-BARBER

ROCKY MT ROAD

ROCKY MT ROAD

I-85

E.H. McCLAIN ROAD

US 27 ALT./ SR. 41

I-85

TENNEY-NELSON RD

JOHN G BROWN ROAD

PIGEON CREEK ROAD

JOHN WALLACE ROAD

SR 100

CARTWRIGHT ROAD

SIMS ROAD

SR 85

WRIGHTSVILLE RD

MT CARMEL ROAD

SR 85

SEWELL ROAD

SR 18

SR 85 ALT

SR 100

COVE ROAD

SR 85 - SR 74

JESSE COLE ROAD

L WHITE HOUSE RD

US 27 ALT./ SR. 41

SR 18

SR 85 ALT.

SR 18

COLEMAN CRK CIR

COVERED BRIDGE RD

C.O. CALDWELL ROAD

SR 100

HARRY HARDY ROAD

SR 85

US 27 ALT./ SR. 18

US 27 ALT./ SR. 41

ANTHONY MOONEY RD

CO LINE CHURCH RD.

SR 362

ROCKY MOUNT ROAD

SR 85 - SR 74

SR 85 - SR 74

SR 109 SPUR

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