County profile · official public datasets

Spencer County, IN

244 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 48.8% rated Good, 50% Fair, 1.2% Poor.

244
Public bridges
48.8%
Good condition
1.2%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Spencer County posts a top-10% lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

Top 9%
lowest Poor share in state
1.2%
Poor-condition share
244
public highway bridges
1982
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.

Spencer County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Spencer County ranks #8 of 92 Indiana counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 1.2%). Spencer County, Indiana contains 244 public highway bridges. Roughly 48.8% are rated “Good,” 50% “Fair,” and 1.2% “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

244

Public highway bridges in Spencer County

Good condition

48.8%

119 of 244 rated 7-9

Fair condition

50%

122 of 244 rated 5-6

Poor condition

1.2%

3 of 244 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#8 of 92

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

Condition distribution

Share of 244 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
48.8% (119)
Fair
50% (122)
Poor
1.2% (3)

Spencer County's Poor-condition bridges carry 2,699 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 1.2% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 900 crossings a day against 2,069 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 244 of 244 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

24.2% of Spencer County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

59 of the 244 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 48.8% 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 94.4% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SR 162 over BRANCH CROOKED CREEK, built 1987, carries 2,549 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 3-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 2,699 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Spencer County's bridges were built

244 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 65 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 26.6% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1982) matches the Indiana average (1978).

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

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

The 5 Indiana counties nearest Spencer County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 1.2% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1982 against a peer-group mean of 1983 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Spencer County and the 5 Indiana counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Montgomery County 252 2.4%
Morgan County 252 4%
Shelby County 247 7.3%
Spencer County (this page) 244 1.2%
Greene County 239 9.2%
Monroe County 232 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 Spencer 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 Spencer County, both outside Indiana so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside IN (244 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside IN (1982 here).

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

Fair-condition bridges (122)

CR 450W

Fair

Over: LAKE DRAIN

00.51 S of CR 600 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1976 Load: 32.2 t ADT: 220

SR 62

Fair

Over: BUCKHORN CREEK

01.40 S SR 162, Spencer, IN

Built 1922 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 5,376

SR 66

Fair

Over: LITTLE BRANCH CREEK

03.34 W SR 70, Spencer, IN

Built 1932 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,760

SR 161

Fair

Over: WRIGHT DRAIN

04.83 S SR 66, Spencer, IN

Built 1939 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 11,403

CR 500S

Fair

Over: CANEY CREEK

01.60 E SR 161, Spencer, IN

Built 1925 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 30

CR 420W

Fair

Over: CREEK TO OHIO RIVER

00.01 N of CR 560 S, Spencer, IN

Built 1915 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 60

CR 400W

Fair

Over: WILLOW POND DITCH

00.58 S of SR 66, Spencer, IN

Built 1910 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 100

CR 750W

Fair

Over: BAKER CREEK

00.66 N of CR 200 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1985 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 100

CR 50S

Fair

Over: WILLOW POND DITCH

00.28 W of CR 850 W, Spencer, IN

Built 1998 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 130

CR 300N

Fair

Over: BRANCH HUFFMAN DITCH

00.30 E of CR 200 W, Spencer, IN

Built 2003 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 170

CR 200W

Fair

Over: HUFFMAN DITCH

00.02 S of CR 300 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1905 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 80

CR 200W

Fair

Over: BRANCH HUFFMAN DITCH

00.11 S of CR 500 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1925 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 140

CR 950N

Fair

Over: ANDERSON RIVER

00.89 E of SR 545, Spencer, IN

Built 1979 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 110

CR 300E

Fair

Over: N FORK LITTLE PIGEON CR

00.78 N of CR 2000 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1925 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

CR 100N

Fair

Over: WILLOW POND DITCH

00.14 E of CR 1000 W, Spencer, IN

Built 1908 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 60

CR 450W

Fair

Over: BAKER CREEK

00.50 N of CR 300 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1984 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 110

CR 105W

Fair

Over: LITTLE PIGEON CREEK

00.18 N of CR 1475 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1989 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

CR 620N

Fair

Over: LITTLE SANDY CREEK

00.45 E of CR 650 E, Spencer, IN

Built 1986 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 60

CR 100N

Fair

Over: TOWER DRAIN

00.64 W of SR 66, Spencer, IN

Built 1929 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 890

CR 100N

Fair

Over: TOWER DRAIN

00.24 W of CR 900 W, Spencer, IN

Built 1950 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 850

CR 100N

Fair

Over: TOWER DRAIN

00.12 E of CR 900 W, Spencer, IN

Built 1948 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 890

CR 300E

Fair

Over: DAVIS ENLOW DITCH

00.25 S of CR 1700 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1965 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,270

I-64 EB

Fair

Over: HUNLEY CREEK

02.41 W SR 162, Spencer, IN

Built 1972 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 13,170

I-64 WBL

Fair

Over: HUNLEY CREEK

02.41 W SR 162, Spencer, IN

Built 1972 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 13,170

CR 1600N

Fair

Over: MIDDLE FORK CROOKED CR

01.07 E of SR 162, Spencer, IN

Built 1995 Load: 33.2 t ADT: 110

SR 245

Fair

Over: CROOKED CREEK

03.92 N SR 70, Spencer, IN

Built 1952 Load: 33.4 t ADT: 1,613

CR 450W RIVER RD

Fair

Over: GARRETT CREEK

00.45 S of CR 440 S, Spencer, IN

Built 1981 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 60

CR 200E

Fair

Over: LITTLE PIGEON CREEK

00.12 S of CR 1350 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1989 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 100

CR 200W

Fair

Over: HUFFMAN DITCH

00.25 S of CR 200 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1979 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 130

CR 850W

Fair

Over: HOOPPOLE DITCH

00.30 N of CR 400 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1980 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 60

CR 700W

Fair

Over: BAKER CREEK

00.58 N of CR 200 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1989 Load: 34.1 t ADT: 100

CR 400N

Fair

Over: BRANCH HONEY CREEK

00.53 W of US 231, Spencer, IN

Built 1981 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 100

SR 66

Fair

Over: SANDY CREEK

05.35 E US 231, Spencer, IN

Built 1982 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 2,760

US 231

Fair

Over: OHIO RIVER SR 66

00.40 S OF SR 66, Spencer, IN

Built 2002 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 8,254

CR 750W

Fair

Over: WILLOW POND DITCH

00.50 N of CR 50 S, Spencer, IN

Built 1969 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 80

CR 900W

Fair

Over: BAKER CREEK

00.19 N of CR 150 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1976 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 640

CR 750N

Fair

Over: SANDY CREEK

00.45 W of CR 475 E, Spencer, IN

Built 1989 Load: 35.7 t ADT: 100

SR 545

Fair

Over: MEINRAD HOLLOW

01.81 S SR 62, Spencer, IN

Built 1939 Load: 36.2 t ADT: 1,461

SR 62

Fair

Over: LONGS BRANCH

00.24 N JCT CR 1200 N, Spencer, IN

Built 1954 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 5,376

US 231 SB

Fair

Over: LITTLE PIGEON CREEK

01.12 S SR 62, Spencer, IN

Built 2008 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 4,800

CR 700W

Fair

Over: HATFIELD DITCH

00.59 N of SR 66, Spencer, IN

Built 1987 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 100

CR 500N

Fair

Over: BRANCH HOOPPOLE DITCH

00.18 W of SR 161, Spencer, IN

Built 1975 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 190

CR 150N

Fair

Over: BAKER CREEK

00.05 W of CR 900 W, Spencer, IN

Built 1960 Load: 37.5 t ADT: 100

CR 800W

Fair

Over: WILLOW POND DITCH

00.27 N of CR 50 S, Spencer, IN

Built 1994 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 320

CR 400N

Fair

Over: HOOPPOLE DITCH

01.03 W of SR 161, Spencer, IN

Built 1977 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 510

CR 1300E

Fair

Over: SWINGING CREEK

00.25 S of SR 545, Spencer, IN

Built 1898 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 40

SR 66

Fair

Over: CROOKED CREEK

00.17 E SR 70, Spencer, IN

Built 1986 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 5,651

CR 1100N

Fair

Over: E FORK LITTLE PIGEON CR

00.20 E of US 231, Spencer, IN

Built 1976 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 140

SR 62

Fair

Over: HURRICANE CREEK

01.34 E SR 545, Spencer, IN

Built 1982 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 802

CR 850W

Fair

Over: WILLOW POND DITCH

00.17 N of CR 50 S, Spencer, IN

Built 1969 Load: 38.7 t ADT: 510
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.