County profile · official public datasets

Crawford County, IA

301 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 42.5% rated Good, 48.5% Fair, 9% Poor.

301
Public bridges
42.5%
Good condition
9%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

Top 14%
lowest Poor share in state
9%
Poor-condition share
301
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.

Crawford County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Crawford County ranks #14 of 99 Iowa counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 9%). Crawford County, Iowa contains 301 public highway bridges. Roughly 42.5% are rated “Good,” 48.5% “Fair,” and 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

301

Public highway bridges in Crawford County

Good condition

42.5%

128 of 301 rated 7-9

Fair condition

48.5%

146 of 301 rated 5-6

Poor condition

9%

27 of 301 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#14 of 99

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

Condition distribution

Share of 301 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
42.5% (128)
Fair
48.5% (146)
Poor
9% (27)

Crawford County's Poor-condition bridges carry 4,530 vehicle crossings a day

That is 2.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 168 crossings a day against 233 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 301 of 301 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

42.2% of Crawford County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

127 of the 301 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 42.5% 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 40.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

DONNA REED DR over OVER UP RR, built 1935, carries 1,846 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 27-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 4,530 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Crawford County's bridges were built

301 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 48 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 15.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1982) matches the Iowa average (1979).

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

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

The 5 Iowa counties nearest Crawford County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 9% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1982 against a peer-group mean of 1978 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Crawford County and the 5 Iowa counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Adair County 306 13.4%
Marshall County 304 43.4%
Chickasaw County 302 27.8%
Cedar County 301 19.6%
Crawford County (this page) 301 9%
Story County 296 13.9%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside IA (301 bridges here).

Similar average build year

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

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

Fair-condition bridges (146)

FM

Fair

Over: W FK W NISHNABOTNA RIVER

082381202, Crawford, IA

Built 1963 Load: 28.5 t ADT: 816

IA 141

Fair

Over: DRAINAGE DITCH

1.9 mi. W of W jct SR L51, Crawford, IA

Built 1977 Load: 28.8 t ADT: 1,490

US 30

Fair

Over: FLASHER CREEK

5.6 mi. N of IA 37, Crawford, IA

Built 1965 Load: 28.9 t ADT: 3,180

LOCAL

Fair

Over: BEAMAN CREEK

085371102, Crawford, IA

Built 1951 Load: 29.7 t ADT: 30

FM

Fair

Over: EAST BOYER RIVER

084371102, Crawford, IA

Built 1970 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 40

LOCAL

Fair

Over: BUCK CREEK

082400105, Crawford, IA

Built 1973 Load: 30.1 t ADT: 11

LOCAL

Fair

Over: W FORK NISHNABOTNA RIVER

083372202, Crawford, IA

Built 2004 Load: 30.1 t ADT: 30

FM

Fair

Over: W FK W NISHNABOTNA RIVER

082370601, Crawford, IA

Built 1975 Load: 30.2 t ADT: 180

NB US 59

Fair

Over: OVER CC RR

0.4 mi. S of IA 39, Crawford, IA

Built 1967 Load: 30.4 t ADT: 4,300

FM

Fair

Over: BOYER RIVER

085381205, Crawford, IA

Built 1970 Load: 30.4 t ADT: 459

FM

Fair

Over: GRIFFIN CREEK

082391701, Crawford, IA

Built 1962 Load: 30.6 t ADT: 349

FM

Fair

Over: BUCK CREEK

082391701, Crawford, IA

Built 1962 Load: 30.6 t ADT: 349

FM

Fair

Over: PORTER CREEK

085381403, Crawford, IA

Built 1970 Load: 30.6 t ADT: 488

AVE C

Fair

Over: WEST BOYER RIVER

083391001, Crawford, IA

Built 1985 Load: 30.7 t ADT: 7,347

US 30

Fair

Over: OVER UP RR

2.0 mi. E of Jct. SR M55, Crawford, IA

Built 1972 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 3,270

IA 141

Fair

Over: W.FORK NISHNABOTNA RIVER

0.3 mi W of SR M55, Crawford, IA

Built 1988 Load: 32.2 t ADT: 1,540

US 59

Fair

Over: EAST SOLDIER RIVER

2.9 mi S of SR E16, Crawford, IA

Built 1948 Load: 32.3 t ADT: 3,060

US 30

Fair

Over: DRAINAGE DITCH

3.8 mi. E of Jct. SR M36, Crawford, IA

Built 1965 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 4,000

FM

Fair

Over: MALONY CREEK

083372502, Crawford, IA

Built 1985 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 180

US 30

Fair

Over: MILLER CREEK

in VAIL/at W Jct. SR M55, Crawford, IA

Built 1965 Load: 32.8 t ADT: 3,230

FM

Fair

Over: PARADISE CREEK

083402204, Crawford, IA

Built 1972 Load: 32.8 t ADT: 210

US 30

Fair

Over: WILLOW CREEK

3.8 mi. E of SR M14, Crawford, IA

Built 1958 Load: 33.4 t ADT: 3,520

NB US 59

Fair

Over: BOYER RIVER

0.1 mi. S of IA 39, Crawford, IA

Built 1967 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 4,300

US 30

Fair

Over: BOYER RIVER

2.7 mi. W of W jct. US 59, Crawford, IA

Built 1959 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 3,520

LOCAL

Fair

Over: SMALL STREAM

084400901, Crawford, IA

Built 1900 Load: 34.9 t ADT: 11

US 30

Fair

Over: ROCKY RUN

4.6 mi W of Jct. SR M55, Crawford, IA

Built 1929 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 4,000

LOCAL

Fair

Over: SMALL STREAM

085392302, Crawford, IA

Built 1965 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 35

IA 141

Fair

Over: STREAM

3.1 mi. W of W jct US 59, Crawford, IA

Built 1977 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 1,850

US 30

Fair

Over: STREAM

5.5 mi. W of W jct. US 59, Crawford, IA

Built 1959 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 3,480

IA 141

Fair

Over: PARADISE CREEK

1.4 mi. E of Jct SR M14, Crawford, IA

Built 1991 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 1,850

US 59 & IA 141

Fair

Over: COON CREEK

2.1 mi. S of jct. US 30, Crawford, IA

Built 1917 Load: 38.4 t ADT: 4,050

LOCAL

Fair

Over: BEAMAN CREEK

085370302, Crawford, IA

Built 1999 Load: 38.5 t ADT: 15

IA 141

Fair

Over: EMIGRANT CREEK

0.3 mi. W of E jct SR L51, Crawford, IA

Built 1992 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 1,850

IA 39

Fair

Over: BUFFALO CREEK

1.4 mi. N of jct. US 59, Crawford, IA

Built 1977 Load: 38.8 t ADT: 3,550

FM

Fair

Over: SMALL STREAM

082413304, Crawford, IA

Built 1950 Load: 39.4 t ADT: 358

US 30

Fair

Over: EAST BOYER RIVER

2.6 mi. E of jct. SR M55, Crawford, IA

Built 1997 Load: 39.8 t ADT: 3,270

SB US 59

Fair

Over: BOYER RIVER

0.1 mi. S of IA 39, Crawford, IA

Built 1967 Load: 40.6 t ADT: 4,300

FM

Fair

Over: ROCKY RUN

083380403, Crawford, IA

Built 1974 Load: 43.9 t ADT: 79

W AVENUE

Fair

Over: SMALL STREAM

082412801, Crawford, IA

Built 1958 Load: 45.3 t ADT: 26

AVE C

Fair

Over: CC RR

083391102, Crawford, IA

Built 1999 Load: 49.3 t ADT: 7,158

IA 39

Fair

Over: SPANGLER CREEK

0.6 mi. N of N jct. E16, Crawford, IA

Built 1985 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 2,710

M64 380TH ST

Fair

Over: SMALL STREAM

082371404, Crawford, IA

Built 1992 Load: 63.1 t ADT: 349

IA 141

Fair

Over: DRAINAGE DITCH

1.5 mi. E of E jct. US 59, Crawford, IA

Built 1975 Load: 69.7 t ADT: 1,540

US 59

Fair

Over: DRAINAGE DITCH

1.0 mi. S of S jct. IA141, Crawford, IA

Built 1968 Load: 75.6 t ADT: 2,780

FM

Fair

Over: SMALL STREAM

082391601, Crawford, IA

Built 1962 Load: 86.0 t ADT: 349

FM

Fair

Over: SMALL STREAM

000000000, Crawford, IA

Built 1959 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 593
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.