County profile · official public datasets

Adair County, IA

306 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 46.7% rated Good, 39.9% Fair, 13.4% Poor.

306
Public bridges
46.7%
Good condition
13.4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

Top 28%
lowest Poor share in state
13.4%
Poor-condition share
306
public highway bridges
1983
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.

Adair County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Adair County ranks #28 of 99 Iowa counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 13.4%). Adair County, Iowa contains 306 public highway bridges. Roughly 46.7% are rated “Good,” 39.9% “Fair,” and 13.4% “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

306

Public highway bridges in Adair County

Good condition

46.7%

143 of 306 rated 7-9

Fair condition

39.9%

122 of 306 rated 5-6

Poor condition

13.4%

41 of 306 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#28 of 99

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

Condition distribution

Share of 306 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
46.7% (143)
Fair
39.9% (122)
Poor
13.4% (41)

Adair County's Poor-condition bridges carry 1,794 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.5% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 13.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 44 crossings a day against 485 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 306 of 306 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

40.5% of Adair County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

124 of the 306 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 46.7% 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 21.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

3RD ST over OVER ABANDON RR, built 1900, carries 387 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 41-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 1,794 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Adair County's bridges were built

306 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 71 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 23.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1983) matches the Iowa average (1979).

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

How Adair County compares with Iowa's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Iowa counties nearest Adair County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 13.4% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1983 against a peer-group mean of 1981 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 98 Iowa counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Adair County and the 5 Iowa counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Buchanan County 316 6.6%
Adair County (this page) 306 13.4%
Marshall County 304 43.4%
Chickasaw County 302 27.8%
Cedar County 301 19.6%
Crawford County 301 9%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside IA (306 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside IA (1983 here).

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

Fair-condition bridges (122)

LOCAL

Fair

Over: RUTT BRANCH

075331401, Adair, IA

Built 1961 Load: 24.9 t ADT: 11

LOCAL

Fair

Over: STREAM

074320602, Adair, IA

Built 1950 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 51

FM

Fair

Over: CREEK

075303301, Adair, IA

Built 1932 Load: 25.1 t ADT: 50

FM

Fair

Over: NORTH RIVER

077302802, Adair, IA

Built 1965 Load: 25.1 t ADT: 1,047

FM

Fair

Over: MIDDLE NODAWAY RIVER

074320504, Adair, IA

Built 1967 Load: 25.3 t ADT: 509

FM

Fair

Over: STREAM

077332201, Adair, IA

Built 2001 Load: 25.3 t ADT: 100

LOCAL

Fair

Over: STREAM

076323001, Adair, IA

Built 1978 Load: 25.6 t ADT: 26

LOCAL

Fair

Over: NORTH RIVER

077303402, Adair, IA

Built 2004 Load: 25.7 t ADT: 21

IA 25

Fair

Over: IOWA 25

AT JCT. I-80, Adair, IA

Built 1958 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 23,600

LOCAL RD

Fair

Over: MIDDLE RIVER

076302001, Adair, IA

Built 1979 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 30

P28 STUART ST

Fair

Over: CREEK

077300906, Adair, IA

Built 1977 Load: 26.6 t ADT: 1,295

P43 YORK AVE

Fair

Over: STREAM

074303605, Adair, IA

Built 2003 Load: 26.8 t ADT: 50

LOCAL

Fair

Over: STREAM

075323008, Adair, IA

Built 2004 Load: 26.8 t ADT: 26

LOCAL

Fair

Over: BRANCH OF NODAWAY RIVER

077333507, Adair, IA

Built 1949 Load: 26.9 t ADT: 11

LOCAL RD

Fair

Over: NINE MILE CREEK

075330404, Adair, IA

Built 1971 Load: 27.0 t ADT: 51

LOCAL

Fair

Over: NINE MILE RUN

075313505, Adair, IA

Built 2004 Load: 27.9 t ADT: 41

G61 310TH ST

Fair

Over: CREEK

074302401, Adair, IA

Built 1966 Load: 28.1 t ADT: 379

LOCAL

Fair

Over: STREAM

077330801, Adair, IA

Built 1993 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 51

FM

Fair

Over: MIDDLE RIVER

076302104, Adair, IA

Built 1969 Load: 29.2 t ADT: 1,047

FM G-30

Fair

Over: I-80

AT JCT. OF SR G-30, Adair, IA

Built 1958 Load: 29.4 t ADT: 1,623

LOCAL

Fair

Over: SMALL

076301201, Adair, IA

Built 1967 Load: 29.6 t ADT: 51

FM

Fair

Over: GRAND RIVER

076312502, Adair, IA

Built 1961 Load: 29.7 t ADT: 45

FM

Fair

Over: MIDDLE RIVER

077312003, Adair, IA

Built 1959 Load: 29.7 t ADT: 240

SR P28

Fair

Over: I-80

AT JCT. SR P-28, Adair, IA

Built 1959 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 4,502

IA 92

Fair

Over: MIDDLE NODAWAY RIVER

2.4 mi. W of Jct. IA 25, Adair, IA

Built 1966 Load: 30.2 t ADT: 2,800

FM

Fair

Over: GRAND RIVER

076313601, Adair, IA

Built 1950 Load: 30.2 t ADT: 45

LOCAL

Fair

Over: RUTT BRANCH

076322802, Adair, IA

Built 2006 Load: 30.7 t ADT: 21

MARION AVE

Fair

Over: STREAM

77311902, Adair, IA

Built 2012 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 30

LOCAL

Fair

Over: GRAND RIVER

075300604, Adair, IA

Built 2005 Load: 31.4 t ADT: 5

FM

Fair

Over: STREAM

074332202, Adair, IA

Built 1950 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 60

FM

Fair

Over: STREAM

075303104, Adair, IA

Built 1989 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 1,374

FM

Fair

Over: GRAND RIVER

076313401, Adair, IA

Built 1950 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 34

IA 92

Fair

Over: GRAND RIVER

1.0 MI. W OF Jct. SR P28, Adair, IA

Built 1966 Load: 32.0 t ADT: 1,780

I-80

Fair

Over: NORTH RIVER

3.1 MI. E OF JCT. IA 25, Adair, IA

Built 1958 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 25,900

I-80

Fair

Over: STREAM

0.8 mi. W of Jct. SR G-30, Adair, IA

Built 1958 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 23,300

I-80

Fair

Over: MIDDLE RIVER

3.3 MI. E OF SR N-54, Adair, IA

Built 1958 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 24,800

LOCAL

Fair

Over: STREAM

074320801, Adair, IA

Built 1989 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 20

LOCAL

Fair

Over: MIDDLE NODAWAY RIVER

077332802, Adair, IA

Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 21

LOCAL

Fair

Over: STREAM

074322801, Adair, IA

Built 2005 Load: 32.8 t ADT: 15

SR N-54

Fair

Over: I-80

AT JCT. SR N-54, Adair, IA

Built 1958 Load: 32.9 t ADT: 2,158

FM

Fair

Over: PLUNGER CREEK

077302101, Adair, IA

Built 1963 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 79

FM

Fair

Over: MIDDLE NODAWAY RIVER BR.

076330502, Adair, IA

Built 1993 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 45

LOCAL

Fair

Over: RUFT BRANCH

075331105, Adair, IA

Built 2007 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 21

ANTIQUE CO.DR

Fair

Over: MIDDLE RIVER

77320352, Adair, IA

Built 1958 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 969

LOCAL

Fair

Over: BR GRAND RIVER

075300804, Adair, IA

Built 1961 Load: 34.6 t ADT: 15

LOCAL

Fair

Over: SMALL

077311102, Adair, IA

Built 1997 Load: 34.6 t ADT: 21

LOCAL

Fair

Over: STREAM

075331304, Adair, IA

Built 1991 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 41

LOCAL

Fair

Over: NINE MILE CREEK

076331401, Adair, IA

Built 1955 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 41

LOCAL RD

Fair

Over: SMALL STREAM

077311401, Adair, IA

Built 2004 Load: 34.8 t ADT: 15

PINEWOOD AVE

Fair

Over: I-80

2.0 MI. E OF JCT. IA 25, Adair, IA

Built 1958 Load: 34.9 t ADT: 229
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.