County profile · official public datasets

Clay County, IN

185 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 33% rated Good, 56.2% Fair, 10.8% Poor.

185
Public bridges
33%
Good condition
10.8%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

87th
of 92 on Poor share
10.8%
Poor-condition share
185
public highway bridges
1974
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.

Clay County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Clay County ranks #87 of 92 Indiana counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 10.8%). Clay County, Indiana contains 185 public highway bridges. Roughly 33% are rated “Good,” 56.2% “Fair,” and 10.8% “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

185

Public highway bridges in Clay County

Good condition

33%

61 of 185 rated 7-9

Fair condition

56.2%

104 of 185 rated 5-6

Poor condition

10.8%

20 of 185 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#87 of 92

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

Condition distribution

Share of 185 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
33% (61)
Fair
56.2% (104)
Poor
10.8% (20)

Clay County's Poor-condition bridges carry 9,216 vehicle crossings a day

That is 2.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 10.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 485 crossings a day against 1,922 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 184 of 185 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

40% of Clay County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

74 of the 185 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% 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 76.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 40 over ABANDONED RR, built 1926, carries 7,076 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 9,216 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Clay County's bridges were built

185 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 36 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 19.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1974) matches the Indiana average (1978).

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

How Clay County compares with Indiana's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Indiana counties nearest Clay County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 10.8% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1974 against a peer-group mean of 1983 is 9 years older.

Showing the 5 closest of 91 Indiana counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Clay County and the 5 Indiana counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Jay County 191 6.3%
Jasper County 189 0.5%
Huntington County 187 3.7%
Cass County 185 1.6%
Clay County (this page) 185 10.8%
Marshall County 183 3.3%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside IN (185 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside IN (1974 here).

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

All bridges (185)

CR 450S

Fair

Over: Clear Branch

00.60 W of CR 400 W, Clay, IN

Built 2000 Load: 31.8 t ADT: 119

CR 700S

Fair

Over: Conneley Ditch

00.10 E of 250 W, Clay, IN

Built 1991 Load: 31.8 t ADT: 119

CR 1200N

Fair

Over: OTTER Creek

00.40 W of Murphy Rd, Clay, IN

Built 1966 Load: 32.1 t ADT: 416

CR 25W

Fair

Over: PRAIRIE Creek

00.30 N of CR 300 N, Clay, IN

Built 1960 Load: 32.3 t ADT: 237

PUTNAM CO LINE RD

Fair

Over: I-70 EB/WB

06.39 E SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1965 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 70

CR 400S

Fair

Over: Clear Branch

00.50 E of 500 W, Clay, IN

Built 1965 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 119

CR 200E

Fair

Over: Billy Creek

00.30 N of CR 900 N, Clay, IN

Built 1960 Load: 33.1 t ADT: 950

SR 59

Fair

Over: LITTLE BIRCH CREEK

00.31 N I-70, Clay, IN

Built 1984 Load: 33.4 t ADT: 13,566

SR 340

Fair

Over: PURDY RUN

02.09 E W US 40 JCT, Clay, IN

Built 1920 Load: 33.4 t ADT: 1,553

I-70 EB

Fair

Over: BIRCH CREEK

00.85 E SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1966 Load: 33.4 t ADT: 30,165

Kennedy Crossng Rd

Fair

Over: Waterworks Creek

00.10 S of CR 1000 N, Clay, IN

Built 1974 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 475

CR 600S

Fair

Over: Conneley Ditch

00.20 W of CR 150 W, Clay, IN

Built 1968 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 150

SR 42

Fair

Over: EEL RIVER

07.34 E SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1938 Load: 33.8 t ADT: 819

US 40

Fair

Over: CROYS CREEK

04.53 E SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1940 Load: 33.9 t ADT: 11,886

CR 1250S

Fair

Over: White Oak Creek

00.10 E of 75 E, Clay, IN

Built 1987 Load: 33.9 t ADT: 119

I-70 EB

Fair

Over: HONEY CREEK PRIV RD

04.86 W SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1967 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 15,522

CR 425W

Fair

Over: OTTER Creek

00.10 N of CR 1025 N, Clay, IN

Built 1975 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 119

CR 700E

Fair

Over: SIX MILE Creek

00.50 N of CR 300 S, Clay, IN

Built 1975 Load: 34.8 t ADT: 119

SR 246

Fair

Over: CONNELEY DITCH

01.72 W SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1993 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 779

CR 600W

Fair

Over: Watkins Creek

00.60 N of SR 246, Clay, IN

Built 1975 Load: 35.5 t ADT: 179

CR 500E

Fair

Over: CANAAN RUN

00.20 N US 40, Clay, IN

Built 2009 Load: 35.5 t ADT: 209

Bowlg Green/Poland

Fair

Over: JORDAN CREEK

00.20 N of SR 46, Clay, IN

Built 1965 Load: 35.7 t ADT: 237

CR 300W

Fair

Over: N Branch of Otter Creek

00.40 N of CR 1400 N, Clay, IN

Built 1900 Load: 36.4 t ADT: 179

I-70 EB

Fair

Over: EAST FORK BIRCH CREEK

02.07 E SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1966 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 15,050

CR 600N

Fair

Over: East Fork of Birch Creek

00.10 W of CR 100 E, Clay, IN

Built 1985 Load: 37.0 t ADT: 237

SR 46

Fair

Over: HOG CREEK

03.45 E SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1933 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 3,350

CR 300W

Fair

Over: Little Creek

00.40 S of CR 1350 N, Clay, IN

Built 1974 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 357

CR 1000S

Fair

Over: Conneley Ditch

00.15 E of 200 W, Clay, IN

Built 1990 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 119

I-70 WB

Fair

Over: HONEY CREEK PRIV RD

04.86 W SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1967 Load: 38.0 t ADT: 16,016

CR 250W

Fair

Over: BRUSH Creek

00.10 N of CR 100 S, Clay, IN

Built 1976 Load: 38.7 t ADT: 150

CR 900N

Fair

Over: CROYS Creek

00.10 W of CR 400 E, Clay, IN

Built 1976 Load: 39.7 t ADT: 237

CR 300S

Fair

Over: BIRCH Creek

00.20 W of CR 200 W, Clay, IN

Built 1974 Load: 39.7 t ADT: 267

CR 300W

Fair

Over: I-70 EB/WB

01.99 W SR 59, Clay, IN

Built 1967 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 211

CR 1200S

Fair

Over: Conneley Ditch

00.10 W of CR 100 W, Clay, IN

Built 1975 Load: 40.0 t ADT: 12

CR 1200S

Fair

Over: White Oak Creek

00.30 W of CR 125 E, Clay, IN

Built 1990 Load: 40.0 t ADT: 237

CR 550E

Fair

Over: SIX MILE Creek

00.80 N of CR 300 S, Clay, IN

Built 1974 Load: 41.2 t ADT: 209

CR 500W

Fair

Over: Br Wabash & Erie Canal

00.10 S of CR 1000 S, Clay, IN

Built 1975 Load: 41.2 t ADT: 179

CR 900S

Fair

Over: Conneley Ditch

00.50 W of CR 175 W, Clay, IN

Built 1900 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 12

Rock Run Church Rd

Fair

Over: N Branch of Otter Creek

00.20 N of CR 1385 N, Clay, IN

Built 1986 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 119

CR 675W

Fair

Over: Branch of LOST Creek

00.40 N of CR 650 N, Clay, IN

Built 1925 Load: 43.2 t ADT: 237

CR 50N

Fair

Over: Branch of Jordan Creek

00.10 E of 700 E, Clay, IN

Built 1980 Load: 44.6 t ADT: 119

CR 500S

Fair

Over: Branch of Conneley Ditch

00.00 E of CR 100 E, Clay, IN

Built 1920 Load: 47.3 t ADT: 119

CR 1375S

Fair

Over: White Oak Creek

00.40 W of CR 175 E, Clay, IN

Built 1991 Load: 49.3 t ADT: 30

SR 340

Fair

Over: SULPHUR CREEK

02.32 E W US 40 JCT, Clay, IN

Built 2006 Load: 52.5 t ADT: 1,553

CR 825E

Fair

Over: SIX MILE Creek

00.50 S of SR 46, Clay, IN

Built 1992 Load: 54.2 t ADT: 1

CR 200W

Fair

Over: Branch of Birch Creek

00.40 N of Towpath Rd, Clay, IN

Built 1988 Load: 55.0 t ADT: 119

CR 1300S

Fair

Over: Br Wabash & Erie Canal

00.10 E of 400 W, Clay, IN

Built 1912 Load: 55.2 t ADT: 150

CR 150S

Fair

Over: BIRCH Creek

00.50 E of 200 W, Clay, IN

Built 1992 Load: 64.8 t ADT: 179

Sonnefield Rd

Fair

Over: McIntyre Creek

00.80 S of CR 200 N, Clay, IN

Built 1993 Load: 68.7 t ADT: 119

CR 75W

Fair

Over: Conneley Ditch

00.40 S of CR 500 S, Clay, IN

Built 1991 Load: 69.3 t ADT: 119
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.