County profile · official public datasets

Towns County, GA

46 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 65.2% rated Good, 30.4% Fair, 4.3% Poor.

46
Public bridges
65.2%
Good condition
4.3%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

144th
of 159 on Poor share
4.3%
Poor-condition share
46
public highway bridges
1973
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.

Towns County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Towns County ranks #144 of 159 Georgia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4.3%). Towns County, Georgia contains 46 public highway bridges. Roughly 65.2% are rated “Good,” 30.4% “Fair,” and 4.3% “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

46

Public highway bridges in Towns County

Good condition

65.2%

30 of 46 rated 7-9

Fair condition

30.4%

14 of 46 rated 5-6

Poor condition

4.3%

2 of 46 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#144 of 159

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

Condition distribution

Share of 46 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
65.2% (30)
Fair
30.4% (14)
Poor
4.3% (2)

Towns County's Poor-condition bridges carry 330 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.3% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 165 crossings a day against 2,044 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 46 of 46 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

52.2% of Towns County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

24 of the 46 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 65.2% 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 81.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

HIGH RIVER ROAD over HIAWASSEE RIVER, built 1958, carries 270 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 330 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Towns County's bridges were built

46 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1940s, when 9 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 19.6% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 75 to 84 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1973) matches the Georgia average (1977).

Source FHWA National Bridge Inventory (year built) As of 2024 NBI release

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

The 5 Georgia counties nearest Towns County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4.3% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1973 against a peer-group mean of 1972 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Towns County and the 5 Georgia counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Ben Hill County 47 4.3%
Long County 47 0%
Butts County 46 6.5%
Marion County 46 2.2%
Towns County (this page) 46 4.3%
Dawson County 45 2.2%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside GA (46 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside GA (1973 here).

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

All 46 Good 30 Fair 14 Poor 2

Good-condition bridges (30)

OWL CREEK ROAD

Good

Over: HIAWASSEE RIVER

5.8 MI S OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1968 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 540

US 76 SR 2

Good

Over: HIAWASSEE RIVER

3 MI SE OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 2003 Load: 21.7 t ADT: 4,440

STREAKHILL ROAD

Good

Over: HIAWASSEE RIVER

3.7 MI SE OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1982 Load: 23.5 t ADT: 230

SR 75

Good

Over: BELL CREEK

2 MI NE OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1940 Load: 24.4 t ADT: 4,480

HOG CREEK ROAD

Good

Over: WILSON COVE CREEK

1.8 MI W OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1969 Load: 24.4 t ADT: 300

KELLY ROAD

Good

Over: HIGHTOWER CREEK

3.5 MI SE OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1979 Load: 24.4 t ADT: 140

US 76

Good

Over: SCATAWAY CREEK

4.7 MI SE OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1933 Load: 25.4 t ADT: 2,670

US 76

Good

Over: LITTLE HIGHTOWER CR

7.2 MI E OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1948 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 1,730

BRASSTOWN WAY

Good

Over: BRASSTOWN CREEK TRIB

1.5 MI N OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 1995 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 600

TOWNSEND ROAD

Good

Over: BRASSTOWN CREEK

1.5 MI SW OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 1979 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 430

BRASS TOWN CREEK R

Good

Over: BRASSTOWN CREEK

0.7 MI W OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 1988 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 230

HOOPER BRANCH RD

Good

Over: FODDER CREEK

2.8 MI S OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1981 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 280

CR 337

Good

Over: SCATAWAY CREEK

5.2 MI E OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1972 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 130

JAY TEE ROAD

Good

Over: HIGHTOWER CREEK

5.3 MI E OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1987 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 50

MT. PLEASANT ROAD

Good

Over: HIGHTOWER CREEK

7.5 MI E OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1983 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 366

WINCHESTER CR RD

Good

Over: WINCHESTER CREEK

5 MI NW OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 1983 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 366

SR 17 - SR 75

Good

Over: HIAWASSEE RIVER

3.6 MI S OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 2016 Load: 37.1 t ADT: 3,860

SR 66

Good

Over: BRASSTOWN CREEK

0.5 MI NW OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 2020 Load: 37.1 t ADT: 2,730

US 76- SR 515

Good

Over: GOLF CART O/PASS

0.2 MI N OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 1989 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 12,200

SR 66

Good

Over: BRASSTOWN CREEK

3.2 MI NW OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 2017 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 2,060

US 76

Good

Over: HIGHTOWER CREEK

6.1 MI E OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 2016 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,730

SR 17 - SR 75

Good

Over: HIAWASSEE RIVER

6.5 MI S OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 2016 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 3,860

BRYSON DRIVE

Good

Over: CORN CREEK

IN YOUNG HARRIS CTY LMTS, Towns, GA

Built 2001 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 80

SR 66

Good

Over: CRANE CREEK

2.7 MI NW OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 1941 Load: 45.3 t ADT: 2,060

POPE ROAD

Good

Over: HIGHTOWER CREEK

4 MI SE OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 2004 Load: 46.2 t ADT: 20

SR 288

Good

Over: WILSON COVE CREEK

1.5 MI W OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1940 Load: 62.5 t ADT: 1,430

SR 288

Good

Over: FODDER CREEK

2 MI S OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1940 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 1,510

TOM WHEELER ROAD

Good

Over: HIGHTOWER CREEK

S JCT SR 2 SE HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1996 Load: 70.7 t ADT: 60

BRASSTOWN WAY

Good

Over: BRASSTOWN CREEK TRIB

1.5 MI N OF YOUNG HARRIS, Towns, GA

Built 1995 Load: 76.2 t ADT: 340

US 76

Good

Over: SHAKE RAG CREEK

1.5 MI SE OF HIAWASSEE, Towns, GA

Built 1942 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 12,400

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.