County profile · official public datasets

Cherokee County, IA

248 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 34.3% rated Good, 36.7% Fair, 29% Poor.

248
Public bridges
34.3%
Good condition
29%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Cherokee 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.

76th
of 99 on Poor share
29%
Poor-condition share
248
public highway bridges
1968
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.

Cherokee County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Cherokee County ranks #76 of 99 Iowa counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 29%). Cherokee County, Iowa contains 248 public highway bridges. Roughly 34.3% are rated “Good,” 36.7% “Fair,” and 29% “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

248

Public highway bridges in Cherokee County

Good condition

34.3%

85 of 248 rated 7-9

Fair condition

36.7%

91 of 248 rated 5-6

Poor condition

29%

72 of 248 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#76 of 99

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

Condition distribution

Share of 248 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
34.3% (85)
Fair
36.7% (91)
Poor
29% (72)

Cherokee County's Poor-condition bridges carry 11,294 vehicle crossings a day

That is 10.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 29.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 157 crossings a day against 274 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 247 of 248 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

52% of Cherokee County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

129 of the 248 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 34.3% 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 31.2% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

W BLUFF ST over RAILROAD CREEK, built 1961, carries 3,529 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 72-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 11,294 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Cherokee County's bridges were built

248 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 37 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 14.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1968, 11 years older than the Iowa average of 1979.

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

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

The 5 Iowa counties nearest Cherokee County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 29% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1968 against a peer-group mean of 1979 is 11 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Cherokee County and the 5 Iowa counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Carroll County 249 6.8%
Poweshiek County 248 41.9%
Cherokee County (this page) 248 29%
Jackson County 246 17.1%
Hardin County 241 27.8%
Iowa County 241 19.1%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside IA (248 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside IA (1968 here).

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

All 248 Good 85 Fair 91 Poor 72

Good-condition bridges (85)

LOCAL-510TH ST

Good

Over: WILLOW CREEK

092412001, Cherokee, IA

Built 1999 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 30

LOCAL-510TH ST

Good

Over: SMALL CREEK

092392101, Cherokee, IA

Built 2010 Load: 37.1 t ADT: 20

LOCAL-510TH ST

Good

Over: MAPLE CREEK

092392201, Cherokee, IA

Built 2010 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 26

FM 560TH ST

Good

Over: MAPLE RIVER

091391701, Cherokee, IA

Built 2009 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 40

LOCAL-480TH ST.

Good

Over: CREEK

092410101, Cherokee, IA

Built 1999 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 15

LOCAL 470TH ST

Good

Over: CREEK

093393501, Cherokee, IA

Built 2000 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 11

LOCAL 420TH ST

Good

Over: CREEK

093420501, Cherokee, IA

Built 1997 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 20

B AVENUE

Good

Over: DRAINAGE

090420802, Cherokee, IA

Built 1998 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 26

LOCAL C AVE.

Good

Over: SMALL CREEK

091422802, Cherokee, IA

Built 1998 Load: 37.7 t ADT: 20

LOCAL- 600TH ST

Good

Over: WILLOW CREEK

090410601, Cherokee, IA

Built 1997 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 11

OLD 21 ROAD

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

092402306, Cherokee, IA

Built 2006 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 120

FM-HIGH CTRY.RD

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

092400403, Cherokee, IA

Built 1991 Load: 38.5 t ADT: 50

M 21 (V AVE)

Good

Over: PITCHER CREEK

090390302, Cherokee, IA

Built 2012 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 390

US 59

Good

Over: GREY CREEK

0.7 mi. S of Jct. SR C16, Cherokee, IA

Built 1985 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 2,000

FM-530TH ST.

Good

Over: FIDDLE CREEK

092423203, Cherokee, IA

Built 1985 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 778

LOCAL-520TH ST

Good

Over: MAPLE RIVER

092392801, Cherokee, IA

Built 2012 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 26

FM

Good

Over: LITTLE SIOUX RVR W FORK

091421502, Cherokee, IA

Built 2008 Load: 40.0 t ADT: 838

620TH ST

Good

Over: WILLOW CREEK

090411801, Cherokee, IA

Built 2022 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 15

500TH ST

Good

Over: BADGER CREEL

092391801, Cherokee, IA

Built 2022 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 60

C43 550TH ST

Good

Over: MAPLE RIVER

091390801, Cherokee, IA

Built 2002 Load: 41.0 t ADT: 619

630TH ST

Good

Over: SILVER CREEK

090402201, Cherokee, IA

Built 2022 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 20

LOCAL-510TH ST.

Good

Over: RAILROAD CREEK

092402101, Cherokee, IA

Built 2009 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 71

FM- 510TH ST

Good

Over: WILLOW CREEK

090410701, Cherokee, IA

Built 1998 Load: 44.8 t ADT: 240

LOCAL-E AVE.

Good

Over: WEST FORK LITTLE SIOUX

092423502, Cherokee, IA

Built 1998 Load: 45.3 t ADT: 90

LOCAL-600TH ST

Good

Over: PITCHER CREEK

090390301, Cherokee, IA

Built 1996 Load: 45.5 t ADT: 11

LOCAL Y AVE

Good

Over: STREAM

093391204, Cherokee, IA

Built 2007 Load: 45.5 t ADT: 26

LOCAL-640TH ST

Good

Over: PIERSON CREEK

090422701, Cherokee, IA

Built 1996 Load: 48.0 t ADT: 26

FM-W AVE.

Good

Over: MAPLE RIVER

092391402, Cherokee, IA

Built 2005 Load: 48.2 t ADT: 190

US 59

Good

Over: GREY CREEK

2.0 mi N of Jct. IA 3, Cherokee, IA

Built 1985 Load: 51.1 t ADT: 2,000

LOCAL- 600TH ST

Good

Over: SILVER CREEK

090400503, Cherokee, IA

Built 1992 Load: 52.7 t ADT: 30

P AVE

Good

Over: SILVER CREEK

090401002, Cherokee, IA

Built 2006 Load: 52.7 t ADT: 34

LOCAL Y AVE

Good

Over: MAPLE RIVER

091390102, Cherokee, IA

Built 2001 Load: 52.7 t ADT: 26

FM- WASHTA RD

Good

Over: WILLOW CREEK

090413006, Cherokee, IA

Built 2003 Load: 52.9 t ADT: 71

US 59

Good

Over: GREY CREEK

0.3 mi N SR C16, Cherokee, IA

Built 1986 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 1,460

IA 7

Good

Over: MAPLE CREEK

1.2 mi. E of Jct. IA #3, Cherokee, IA

Built 1989 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 2,020

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

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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.