County profile · official public datasets

Jefferson County, IN

153 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 41.8% rated Good, 54.2% Fair, 3.9% Poor.

153
Public bridges
41.8%
Good condition
3.9%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

Top 38%
lowest Poor share in state
3.9%
Poor-condition share
153
public highway bridges
1977
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.

Jefferson County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Jefferson County ranks #35 of 92 Indiana counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 3.9%). Jefferson County, Indiana contains 153 public highway bridges. Roughly 41.8% are rated “Good,” 54.2% “Fair,” and 3.9% “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

153

Public highway bridges in Jefferson County

Good condition

41.8%

64 of 153 rated 7-9

Fair condition

54.2%

83 of 153 rated 5-6

Poor condition

3.9%

6 of 153 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#35 of 92

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

Condition distribution

Share of 153 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
41.8% (64)
Fair
54.2% (83)
Poor
3.9% (6)

Jefferson County's Poor-condition bridges carry 7,242 vehicle crossings a day

That is 4.9% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 3.9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,207 crossings a day against 448 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 153 of 153 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

34.6% of Jefferson County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

53 of the 153 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 41.8% 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 79.2% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SR 7 over CLIFTY CREEK, built 1925, carries 5,739 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 6-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 7,242 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Jefferson County's bridges were built

153 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 29 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 19% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1977) matches the Indiana average (1978).

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

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

The 5 Indiana counties nearest Jefferson County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 3.9% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1977 against a peer-group mean of 1979 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Jefferson County and the 5 Indiana counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Jefferson County (this page) 153 3.9%
Kosciusko County 152 6.6%
Benton County 151 2%
Perry County 151 2%
Owen County 150 10%
DeKalb County 149 0%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside IN (153 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside IN (1977 here).

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

Fair-condition bridges (83)

F ROAD

Fair

Over: MARBLE CREEK

0.75MI E OFW PERIMETER RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1970 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2

SALUDA-PAYNESVILLE

Fair

Over: BRANCH OF SALUDA CREEK

00.13 S of HENSLER RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1970 Load: 32.9 t ADT: 450

SR 62

Fair

Over: BIG CLIFTY CREEK

01.40 W SR 7, Jefferson, IN

Built 1998 Load: 33.4 t ADT: 13,700

DEPUTY PK

Fair

Over: HARBERTS CREEK

00.06 W of THOMPSON RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1900 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 225

CHINA-MANVILLE RD

Fair

Over: INDIAN-KENTUCK CREEK

00.01 N OF BRUSHY FORK RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1976 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 300

CR 800W

Fair

Over: BRANCH OF BIG CREEK

00.26 S of MAY LN, Jefferson, IN

Built 1996 Load: 35.7 t ADT: 100

SR 7

Fair

Over: HENSLEY CREEK

00.45 S SR 250, Jefferson, IN

Built 1990 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 5,566

DEPUTY PK

Fair

Over: BIG CLIFTY CREEK

00.32 E of CR 300 W, Jefferson, IN

Built 1972 Load: 36.7 t ADT: 650

EAST PRONG RD

Fair

Over: SEALS FORK

00.09 S of LONNIS HILL RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1992 Load: 36.7 t ADT: 100

LEMON RD

Fair

Over: W FK INDIAN-KENTUCK CR

00.03 W WEST FORK RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1979 Load: 36.7 t ADT: 100

WOLF RUN RD

Fair

Over: WOLF RUN

00.23 W of CR 320 N, Jefferson, IN

Built 1990 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 175

CHICKEN RUN RD

Fair

Over: CHICKEN RUN CREEK

00.32 W of CR 600 W, Jefferson, IN

Built 1984 Load: 38.0 t ADT: 100

CR 1000N

Fair

Over: CAMP CREEK

00.07 W of SR 7, Jefferson, IN

Built 1976 Load: 38.3 t ADT: 150

E ROAD

Fair

Over: BIG CREEK TRIBUTARY

0.2 MI E. OF JINESTOWN RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1898 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 2

BRUSHY FORK RD

Fair

Over: LITTLE BRUSHY FORK CREEK

00.01 S of LITTLE BRUSHY, Jefferson, IN

Built 1979 Load: 40.1 t ADT: 215

SR 3

Fair

Over: BIG CREEK

01.06 S SR 250, Jefferson, IN

Built 1992 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 1,994

SR 7

Fair

Over: HARBERTS CREEK

01.52 S SR 250, Jefferson, IN

Built 1993 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 5,566

SR 7

Fair

Over: BIG CREEK

03.66 N SR 250, Jefferson, IN

Built 1984 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 3,758

WEST ST

Fair

Over: CROOKED CREEK

00.03 N of 5th ST, Jefferson, IN

Built 1975 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 1,375

CHINA-MANVILLE RD

Fair

Over: DRY FORK CREEK

00.02 S of LOWER DRY FORK, Jefferson, IN

Built 1976 Load: 42.5 t ADT: 400

BRUSHY FORK RD

Fair

Over: BRUSHY FORK CREEK

00.19 S of MCCARTY HILL R, Jefferson, IN

Built 1974 Load: 42.8 t ADT: 225

SR 62

Fair

Over: WILSON FORK CREEK

01.15 E SR 250, Jefferson, IN

Built 1939 Load: 43.1 t ADT: 180

NEW BETHEL RD

Fair

Over: W FK FOURTEEN MILE CREEK

00.04 W of CR 900 W, Jefferson, IN

Built 1983 Load: 48.4 t ADT: 375

CR 700W

Fair

Over: CAMP CREEK

00.12 N of MAIN ST, Jefferson, IN

Built 1985 Load: 50.3 t ADT: 200

DOE RUN RD

Fair

Over: LITTLE DOE RUN

00.03 S of LITTLE DOE RUN, Jefferson, IN

Built 1973 Load: 52.0 t ADT: 550

MARBLE HILL RD

Fair

Over: BRANCH OF CAMP CREEK

00.20 E of GILL RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1982 Load: 52.4 t ADT: 275

BEE CAMP RD

Fair

Over: TRIB TO OHIO RIVER

00.35 N OF SR56, Jefferson, IN

Built 1982 Load: 53.9 t ADT: 100

THOMPSON RD

Fair

Over: RAMSEY CREEK

00.01 S of LONG RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1976 Load: 54.6 t ADT: 400

BROOK/MANVILLE RD

Fair

Over: INDIAN-KENTUCK CREEK

00.02 W BISHOP HILL RD, Jefferson, IN

Built 1965 Load: 55.6 t ADT: 225

MULBERRY ST

Fair

Over: CROOKED CREEK

00.04 N OF 5TH ST, Jefferson, IN

Built 1988 Load: 58.2 t ADT: 350

SR 56

Fair

Over: EAGLE HOLLOW CREEK

01.89 E US 421, Jefferson, IN

Built 1930 Load: 65.5 t ADT: 2,759

SR 7

Fair

Over: PRESSBERG CREEK

00.22 S SR 62, Jefferson, IN

Built 1957 Load: 88.2 t ADT: 10,219

PARK ROAD

Fair

Over: DEANS BRANCH

00.00 CLIFTY FALLS ST. PA, Jefferson, IN

Built 1946 Load: 97.2 t ADT: 143
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.