Total bridges
1,721
Public highway bridges in Cook County
County profile · official public datasets
Cook County, IL
1,721 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 28.8% rated Good, 57.5% Fair, 13.8% Poor.
- 1,721
- Public bridges
- 28.8%
- Good condition
- 13.8%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Cook 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.
- 88th
- of 102 on Poor share
- 13.8%
- Poor-condition share
- 1,721
- public highway bridges
- 1969
- 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.
Cook County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Cook County ranks #88 of 102 Illinois counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 13.8%). Cook County, Illinois contains 1,721 public highway bridges. Roughly 28.8% are rated “Good,” 57.5% “Fair,” and 13.8% “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.
Good condition
28.8%
495 of 1,721 rated 7-9
Fair condition
57.5%
989 of 1,721 rated 5-6
Poor condition
13.8%
237 of 1,721 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#88 of 102
Among Illinois counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 1,721 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 28.8% (495)
Fair 57.5% (989)
Poor 13.8% (237)
Cook County's Poor-condition bridges carry 5,864,125 vehicle crossings a day
That is 10% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 13.8% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 24,743 crossings a day against 30,089 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 1,714 of 1,721 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
65.7% of Cook County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
1,130 of the 1,721 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 28.8% 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 4.4% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
I- 90 94 RYAN ELEV over CANAL TO STEWART STS, built 1962, carries 256,900 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 237-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 5,864,125 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Cook County's bridges were built
1,721 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- pre-1900 2
Built before 1900
2 bridges
- 1900s 28
1900–1909
28 bridges
- 1910s 20
1910–1919
20 bridges
- 1920s 99
1920–1929
99 bridges
- 1930s 107
1930–1939
107 bridges
- 1940s 66
1940–1949
66 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
446 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
315 bridges
- 1970s 71
1970–1979
71 bridges
- 1980s 90
1980–1989
90 bridges
- 1990s 150
1990–1999
150 bridges
- 2000s 145
2000–2009
145 bridges
- 2010s 144
2010–2019
144 bridges
- 2020s 38
2020–2029
38 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1950s, when 446 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 25.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 65 to 74 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1969, 10 years older than the Illinois average of 1979.
How Cook County compares with Illinois's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Illinois counties nearest Cook County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 13.8% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1969 against a peer-group mean of 1981 is 12 years older.
Showing the 5 closest of 101 Illinois counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County (this page) | 1,721 | 28.8% | 57.5% | 13.8% | 1969 |
| Champaign County | 727 | 58.9% | 32.5% | 8.7% | 1982 |
| Will County | 649 | 43.1% | 46.4% | 10.5% | 1983 |
| McLean County | 624 | 60.9% | 36.2% | 2.9% | 1981 |
| Livingston County | 579 | 51.8% | 39.9% | 8.3% | 1978 |
| Iroquois County | 570 | 46.5% | 39.1% | 14.4% | 1980 |
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 Cook 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 Cook County, both outside Illinois so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside IL (1,721 bridges here).
- San Diego County, CA · 1,632 bridges
- Travis County, TX · 1,544 bridges
- San Bernardino County, CA · 1,422 bridges
- Sedgwick County, KS · 1,333 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside IL (1969 here).
- Fresno County, CA · avg 1969 · 916 bridges
- Cuyahoga County, OH · avg 1969 · 871 bridges
- Ventura County, CA · avg 1969 · 501 bridges
- Somerset County, PA · avg 1969 · 454 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Poor-condition bridges (237)
OGDEN AVE SWB
PoorOver: I- 90 94 JFK
1.5 M N&NW I-290, Cook, IL
Built 1959 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 8,500
I-190 WB JFK
PoorOver: I- 90 TOLL & D P RIV
2.5 M W IL 43, Cook, IL
Built 1959 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 28,600
OHIO ST FEEDER E A
PoorOver: KINGSBURY ST
0.6 M E I-94, Cook, IL
Built 1956 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 80,400
US 12 20 45 NB
PoorOver: S&S & IM CNLS&ICG RR
0.9 M S I-55, Cook, IL
Built 1976 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 77,700
I- 80 WB
PoorOver: IL 50 (CICERO AVE)
0.5 M E I-57, Cook, IL
Built 1966 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 29,450
183RD ST
PoorOver: I- 80
0.5 M SW I-57, Cook, IL
Built 1963 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 8,450
FOSTER AVE
PoorOver: N BR CHI RIV EAST
0.2 M E PULASKI RD, Cook, IL
Built 1933 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 19,100
OHIO ST FEEDER W A
PoorOver: RR - UP TRIB PARKING
0.5 M E I-94, Cook, IL
Built 1956 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 80,400
CRAWFORD AVE
PoorOver: MIDLOTHIAN CR
0.25 M S ILL 83 P3, Cook, IL
Built 1979 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 16,800
I- 55 WB STEVENSON
PoorOver: RR - BNSF
0.6 M E US 45, Cook, IL
Built 1964 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 61,500
CIRCLE AVE
PoorOver: I-290 & IL 110/CTA/RR
0.2 M W IL 43, Cook, IL
Built 1958 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 4,750
IL 1 (HALSTED ST
PoorOver: RR- CSXT
1.5 M N IL 83, Cook, IL
Built 1935 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 13,700
RANDOLPH ST
PoorOver: S.BR.CHICAGO RIVER
375 W & 150 N, Cook, IL
Built 1903 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 6,100
FAU-1552 GRMN CH R
PoorOver: FLAG CREEK
0.03 M W WOLF P10, Cook, IL
Built 1963 Load: 42.8 t ADT: 5,350
LAKE SHORE DR
PoorOver: IRVING PARK RD
4000 N. & 600 W, Cook, IL
Built 1967 Load: 43.1 t ADT: 94,100
US 41 SB RAMP SKOK
PoorOver: I- 94 EDENS
0.9 M S WILLOW RD, Cook, IL
Built 1949 Load: 43.4 t ADT: 7,800
IL 7 SOUTHWEST H
PoorOver: CAL SAG CHANNEL
0.5 M NE IL 83, Cook, IL
Built 1931 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 25,400
130TH ST
PoorOver: RR - CSSS & IHB
0.05 M W I-94, Cook, IL
Built 1953 Load: 44.1 t ADT: 18,500
IL 171 SB RMP I-55
PoorOver: DES PLAINES RIVER
1.5 M SW IL 43, Cook, IL
Built 1964 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 10,600
IL 171 & 79 ST EB
PoorOver: US 12 20 45 MANNHEIM
0.1 M SW US 45, Cook, IL
Built 1959 Load: 45.7 t ADT: 17,300
I-190 EB JFK
PoorOver: DES PLAINES RIV RD
2.8 M W IL 43, Cook, IL
Built 1959 Load: 46.0 t ADT: 28,600
IL 53 NB
PoorOver: US 12 (RAND ROAD)
0.6 M S IL 68, Cook, IL
Built 1965 Load: 46.0 t ADT: 84,000
THORNTON ROAD
PoorOver: MIDLOTHIAN CREEK
0.37 E DIXIE HY P24, Cook, IL
Built 1948 Load: 46.0 t ADT: 850
CHICAGO AV & HALST
PoorOver: UPRR and Parking Lot
800 N. & 800 W., Cook, IL
Built 1968 Load: 46.3 t ADT: 19,900
143RD ST
PoorOver: BR OF TINLEY CREEK
0.75 W CENTRAL P3, Cook, IL
Built 1931 Load: 47.0 t ADT: 14,300
I- 55 EB STEVENSON
PoorOver: RR - BNSF
0.6 M E US 45, Cook, IL
Built 1964 Load: 47.3 t ADT: 61,500
BELMONT AVE
PoorOver: N BR CHGO RVR
3200 N & 2600 W, Cook, IL
Built 1976 Load: 48.0 t ADT: 17,800
I-190 WB JFK
PoorOver: DES PLAINES RIV RD
2.8 M W IL 43, Cook, IL
Built 1959 Load: 48.3 t ADT: 28,600
I- 94 NB 2 OLD ORC
PoorOver: GROUND
EDENS & OLD ORCH, Cook, IL
Built 1982 Load: 49.2 t ADT: 8,300
VOLLMER RD
PoorOver: I- 57
1.5 M N US 30, Cook, IL
Built 1967 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 17,200
HALSTED STREET
PoorOver: KINZIE ST RR TRACKS
KINZIE TO WAYMAN ST., Cook, IL
Built 1971 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 7,150
FOSTER AVE
PoorOver: I- 90 JFK & CTA
1.5 M NW IL 50, Cook, IL
Built 1958 Load: 51.8 t ADT: 19,300
WEST-ELE SERVICE R
PoorOver: 26TH ST CONNECTION
BT W-E PK LOT, Cook, IL
Built 1900 Load: 51.8 t ADT: 100
FAU-2907 State St
PoorOver: VARIOUS CITY STRTS
0E/W & 400N.TO 300N., Cook, IL
Built 1949 Load: 52.2 t ADT: 6,900
KIRCHOFF RD
PoorOver: SALT CREEK
0.4M SE IL 53, Cook, IL
Built 1996 Load: 56.1 t ADT: 10,400
DESPLAINES ST
PoorOver: RR TRACKS-WAYMAN ST.
630W.&400N.TO 320N., Cook, IL
Built 1981 Load: 59.3 t ADT: 9,250
DEVON AVE
PoorOver: SALT CREEK
0.3 M E ARL HTS P5, Cook, IL
Built 1932 Load: 69.7 t ADT: 17,000
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.