Total bridges
173
Public highway bridges in Henry County
County profile · official public datasets
Henry County, IA
173 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 41% rated Good, 37.6% Fair, 21.4% Poor.
- 173
- Public bridges
- 41%
- Good condition
- 21.4%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Henry County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- 59th
- of 99 on Poor share
- 21.4%
- Poor-condition share
- 173
- 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.
Henry County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Henry County ranks #59 of 99 Iowa counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 21.4%). Henry County, Iowa contains 173 public highway bridges. Roughly 41% are rated “Good,” 37.6% “Fair,” and 21.4% “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.
Good condition
41%
71 of 173 rated 7-9
Fair condition
37.6%
65 of 173 rated 5-6
Poor condition
21.4%
37 of 173 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#59 of 99
Among Iowa counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 173 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 41% (71)
Fair 37.6% (65)
Poor 21.4% (37)
Henry County's Poor-condition bridges carry 9,479 vehicle crossings a day
That is 4.5% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 21.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 256 crossings a day against 1,525 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 173 of 173 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
38.7% of Henry County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
67 of the 173 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% 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 30.9% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
235TH STREET over BIG CREEK, built 1957, carries 2,930 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 37-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 9,479 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Henry County's bridges were built
173 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1910s 6
1910–1919
6 bridges
- 1920s 2
1920–1929
2 bridges
- 1930s 4
1930–1939
4 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
22 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
21 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
24 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
19 bridges
- 1990s 13
1990–1999
13 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
41 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
17 bridges
- 2020s 4
2020–2029
4 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 41 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 23.7% 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).
How Henry County compares with Iowa's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Iowa counties nearest Henry County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 21.4% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1982 against a peer-group mean of 1977 is 5 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 98 Iowa counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fremont County | 179 | 33% | 47.5% | 19.6% | 1977 |
| Des Moines County | 176 | 40.9% | 42.6% | 16.5% | 1978 |
| Henry County (this page) | 173 | 41% | 37.6% | 21.4% | 1982 |
| Union County | 169 | 30.2% | 37.3% | 32.5% | 1978 |
| Clarke County | 168 | 27.4% | 41.1% | 31.5% | 1977 |
| Greene County | 168 | 35.1% | 50% | 14.9% | 1973 |
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 Henry 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 Henry County, both outside Iowa so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside IA (173 bridges here).
- Coweta County, GA · 173 bridges
- Somerset County, ME · 173 bridges
- Johnson County, NE · 173 bridges
- Merrick County, NE · 173 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside IA (1982 here).
- Oklahoma County, OK · avg 1982 · 1,216 bridges
- Jackson County, MO · avg 1982 · 930 bridges
- Milwaukee County, WI · avg 1982 · 893 bridges
- Champaign County, IL · avg 1982 · 727 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (65)
LOCAL ROAD
FairOver: LOCAL STREAM
073052704, Henry, IA
Built 1917 Load: 9.9 t ADT: 21
LOCAL ROAD
FairOver: NORTH BIG CREEK
072053101, Henry, IA
Built 1918 Load: 13.9 t ADT: 11
LOCAL
FairOver: MUD CREEK
072071604, Henry, IA
Built 1953 Load: 15.7 t ADT: 62
LOCAL
FairOver: LOCAL STREAM
070072103, Henry, IA
Built 1915 Load: 15.8 t ADT: 51
FM
FairOver: BRUSH CREEK
070050603, Henry, IA
Built 1956 Load: 16.1 t ADT: 50
LOCAL ROAD
FairOver: SPEARMAN BRANCH
071062709, Henry, IA
Built 1994 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 30
FM
FairOver: NORTH BIG CREEK
072052903, Henry, IA
Built 1950 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 20
FM
FairOver: EAST FORK CROOKED CREEK
073051501, Henry, IA
Built 1965 Load: 17.5 t ADT: 140
FM
FairOver: BIG CEDAR RIVER CREEK
070071702, Henry, IA
Built 1961 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 45
FM
FairOver: BIG CEDAR CREEK
071072805, Henry, IA
Built 1954 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 140
IA 78
FairOver: DRAINAGE DITCH
5.6 MI. E OF E JCT US 218, Henry, IA
Built 1931 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 180
H14 120TH ST
FairOver: LOCAL CREEK
073051801, Henry, IA
Built 1920 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 120
US 34
FairOver: DRAINAGE
2.1 mi. W of Jct. SR W-55, Henry, IA
Built 1956 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 6,800
KENTUCKY AVE
FairOver: SMALL
073061102, Henry, IA
Built 2005 Load: 18.7 t ADT: 11
FM
FairOver: BRANDY WINE CREEK
072060901, Henry, IA
Built 1966 Load: 19.9 t ADT: 340
LOCAL
FairOver: LITTLE CEDAR CREEK
070072001, Henry, IA
Built 1957 Load: 20.2 t ADT: 47
LOCAL
FairOver: S. BR. BIG CREEK
071051102, Henry, IA
Built 1959 Load: 21.0 t ADT: 40
LOCAL
FairOver: CROOKED CREEK
073052201, Henry, IA
Built 1959 Load: 22.3 t ADT: 123
FM
FairOver: BRANCH SHAWNEE CREEK
073070704, Henry, IA
Built 1973 Load: 22.6 t ADT: 90
US 218
FairOver: LITTLE POTOMAC
1.5 mi S of SR H28, Henry, IA
Built 1958 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 13,300
FM
FairOver: DRAINAGE DITCH
070062401, Henry, IA
Built 1971 Load: 23.1 t ADT: 60
IA 78
FairOver: STREAM
0.3 mi. W of E jct. W66, Henry, IA
Built 1932 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 780
IA 78
FairOver: CROOKED CREEK
0.2 MI. E OF S.R. W-47, Henry, IA
Built 1951 Load: 23.9 t ADT: 1,170
LOCAL RD
FairOver: SMALL NATURAL STREAM
073052102, Henry, IA
Built 1931 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 600
FM
FairOver: SOUTH BIG CREEK
072053601, Henry, IA
Built 1967 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 900
FM
FairOver: SUGAR CREEK
073071504, Henry, IA
Built 1974 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 60
FM
FairOver: CROOKED CREEK
073070604, Henry, IA
Built 1968 Load: 24.9 t ADT: 130
LOCAL
FairOver: BR E FORK CROOKED CREEK
073051404, Henry, IA
Built 1982 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 26
LOCAL
FairOver: BIG CREEK
070051805, Henry, IA
Built 1977 Load: 25.3 t ADT: 62
CITY STREET
FairOver: OVER BNSF RR
071061006, Henry, IA
Built 1968 Load: 25.9 t ADT: 6,800
FM
FairOver: EAST FORK CROOKED CREEK
073051401, Henry, IA
Built 1968 Load: 25.9 t ADT: 70
US 218 NB
FairOver: SOUTH FISH CREEK
0.7 mi. N of Jct. SR J20, Henry, IA
Built 1964 Load: 27.8 t ADT: 4,850
IA # 78
FairOver: STREAM
2.0 mi. W of W Jct W-66, Henry, IA
Built 1916 Load: 27.8 t ADT: 1,110
GRAND AVE
FairOver: EAST HENRY ST
071061006, Henry, IA
Built 1967 Load: 28.8 t ADT: 6,858
LOCAL
FairOver: LYNN CREEK
073073603, Henry, IA
Built 1973 Load: 29.1 t ADT: 51
FM
FairOver: SUGAR CREEK
073073004, Henry, IA
Built 1968 Load: 30.6 t ADT: 110
W55 FRANKLIN AVE
FairOver: SKUNK RIVER
071072408, Henry, IA
Built 1960 Load: 30.7 t ADT: 1,570
US 218 NB
FairOver: BIG CREEK
3.0 mi. S of S Jct. US 34, Henry, IA
Built 1963 Load: 30.9 t ADT: 4,850
LOCAL
FairOver: BRUSH CREEK
070050706, Henry, IA
Built 1984 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 73
FM
FairOver: BOUGUS CREEK
070062209, Henry, IA
Built 1985 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 450
FM
FairOver: SPEARMAN BRANCH
071062604, Henry, IA
Built 1979 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 260
LOCAL
FairOver: SPEARMAN BRANCH
071062606, Henry, IA
Built 1977 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 82
FM
FairOver: BERRY BR
071072902, Henry, IA
Built 1977 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 60
FM
FairOver: SMALL STREAM
071073202, Henry, IA
Built 1974 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 50
FM
FairOver: STREAM
072053102, Henry, IA
Built 1984 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 130
FM
FairOver: BRANCH 0F MUD CREEK
072071311, Henry, IA
Built 1985 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 780
LOCAL
FairOver: EAST FORK CROOKED CREEK
073051202, Henry, IA
Built 1984 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 11
LOCAL
FairOver: BR.BRUSH CREEK
071053206, Henry, IA
Built 1993 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 51
W 46 ASH AVE
FairOver: MUD CREEK
070073110, Henry, IA
Built 1976 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 440
FM
FairOver: BIG CREEK
072062904, Henry, IA
Built 1980 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 230
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
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.