Total bridges
190
Public highway bridges in Wapello County
County profile · official public datasets
Wapello County, IA
190 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 45.8% rated Good, 39.5% Fair, 14.7% Poor.
- 190
- Public bridges
- 45.8%
- Good condition
- 14.7%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Wapello County pairs a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.
- Top 32%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 14.7%
- Poor-condition share
- 190
- public highway bridges
- 1987
- 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.
Wapello County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Wapello County ranks #32 of 99 Iowa counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 14.7%). Wapello County, Iowa contains 190 public highway bridges. Roughly 45.8% are rated “Good,” 39.5% “Fair,” and 14.7% “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
45.8%
87 of 190 rated 7-9
Fair condition
39.5%
75 of 190 rated 5-6
Poor condition
14.7%
28 of 190 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#32 of 99
Among Iowa counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 190 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 45.8% (87)
Fair 39.5% (75)
Poor 14.7% (28)
Wapello County's Poor-condition bridges carry 4,085 vehicle crossings a day
That is 1.2% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 14.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 146 crossings a day against 1,780 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 190 of 190 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
31.1% of Wapello County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
59 of the 190 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 45.8% 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 23.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
FM over VILLAGE CREEK, built 1961, carries 950 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 28-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 4,085 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Wapello County's bridges were built
190 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1910s 1
1910–1919
1 bridges
- 1920s 2
1920–1929
2 bridges
- 1930s 8
1930–1939
8 bridges
- 1950s 4
1950–1959
4 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
38 bridges
- 1970s 14
1970–1979
14 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
26 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
19 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
45 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
22 bridges
- 2020s 11
2020–2029
11 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 45 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 is 1987, 8 years newer than the Iowa average of 1979.
How Wapello County compares with Iowa's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Iowa counties nearest Wapello County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 14.7% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1987 against a peer-group mean of 1973 is 14 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 98 Iowa counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page County | 196 | 24% | 43.9% | 32.1% | 1975 |
| Lucas County | 195 | 32.3% | 34.4% | 33.3% | 1977 |
| Webster County | 190 | 45.8% | 28.9% | 25.3% | 1983 |
| Wapello County (this page) | 190 | 45.8% | 39.5% | 14.7% | 1987 |
| Adams County | 186 | 10.2% | 45.2% | 44.6% | 1967 |
| Osceola County | 185 | 38.4% | 53% | 8.6% | 1965 |
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 Wapello 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 Wapello County, both outside Iowa so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside IA (190 bridges here).
- Clinton County, IL · 190 bridges
- Bienville County, LA · 190 bridges
- Lincoln County, MT · 190 bridges
- Benton County, OR · 190 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside IA (1987 here).
- St. Louis County, MO · avg 1987 · 912 bridges
- Ellis County, TX · avg 1987 · 691 bridges
- St. Louis County, MN · avg 1987 · 663 bridges
- Palm Beach County, FL · avg 1987 · 610 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
All bridges (190)
FM
FairOver: STREAM
072152706, Wapello, IA
Built 1981 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 70
US 34 WB
FairOver: US 63
At the E Jct. U.S. 63, Wapello, IA
Built 2006 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,650
FM
FairOver: CEDAR CR
073132606, Wapello, IA
Built 1975 Load: 32.8 t ADT: 35
LOCAL
FairOver: BUCKEYE CREEK
072121306, Wapello, IA
Built 1987 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 21
US 34 WB
FairOver: IA 16
At jct. IA 16 and SR V43, Wapello, IA
Built 2006 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 3,900
WB 34
FairOver: OVER ABANDONED RR
0.7 mi. E of jct. IA 149, Wapello, IA
Built 1966 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 5,300
EB US 34
FairOver: BNSF RR
1.2 MI. E OF S JCT. US 63, Wapello, IA
Built 1967 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 4,250
US 63
FairOver: BROWN CREEK
1.9 mi. S of jct. IA 137, Wapello, IA
Built 1988 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 9,900
US 34 WB
FairOver: BARDELL STREET
0.5 MI. E OF JCT. IA 149, Wapello, IA
Built 1966 Load: 34.4 t ADT: 4,350
20TH ST
FairOver: SOAP CREEK
071132902, Wapello, IA
Built 1990 Load: 34.9 t ADT: 50
WB US 34
FairOver: BNSF RR
1.2 MI. E OF S JCT. US 63, Wapello, IA
Built 1968 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 4,250
US 34 WB
FairOver: CHURCH STREET
0.4 mi. E of jct. IA 149, Wapello, IA
Built 1966 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 4,350
US 34
FairOver: SOUTH AVERY CREEK
0.7 mi. E of Jct. SR T61, Wapello, IA
Built 1960 Load: 35.7 t ADT: 4,270
US 34 EB
FairOver: BARDELL STREET
0.5 MI. E OF JCT. IA 149, Wapello, IA
Built 1966 Load: 35.7 t ADT: 4,350
US 63 NB
FairOver: SUGAR CREEK
1.7 mi. N of N Jct. US 34, Wapello, IA
Built 2007 Load: 36.7 t ADT: 3,400
US 63 SB
FairOver: SUGAR CREEK
1.7 mi. N of N Jct. US 34, Wapello, IA
Built 2007 Load: 36.7 t ADT: 3,400
SB US 63
FairOver: COMSTOCK CREEK
0.6 MI. S of SR T67, Wapello, IA
Built 1988 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 4,600
MAIN ST
FairOver: US 34
1.4 mi. E of W Jct. US 63, Wapello, IA
Built 1967 Load: 37.4 t ADT: 1,432
FM
FairOver: SOAP CREEK
071123504, Wapello, IA
Built 1994 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 140
US 63 NB
FairOver: STREAM
1.2 mi. S of Jct. IA 137, Wapello, IA
Built 1988 Load: 38.5 t ADT: 9,900
US 63
FairOver: OVER ABANDON RR
4.8 MI. N OF SR J15., Wapello, IA
Built 1965 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 4,570
73RD ST
FairOver: US 34
2.1 mi. E of E Jct. US 63, Wapello, IA
Built 2006 Load: 41.9 t ADT: 1,370
MARKET ST
FairOver: DES MOINES RIVER
072142500, Wapello, IA
Built 1972 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 6,100
IA 16
FairOver: BNSF RR
0.4 mi. S of Jct. U.S. 34, Wapello, IA
Built 1984 Load: 45.2 t ADT: 2,440
US 63 SB
FairOver: FUDGE CREEK
4.3 mi. S of Jct. IA 137, Wapello, IA
Built 1997 Load: 58.0 t ADT: 4,950
LOCAL
GoodOver: SOUTH AVERY CREEK
072151503, Wapello, IA
Built 1930 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 11
LOCAL
GoodOver: LITTLE SOAP CREEK
071133404, Wapello, IA
Built 2005 Load: 18.0 t ADT: 50
US 34
GoodOver: DRAINAGE DITCH
1.5 mi. E of Jct. SR V37, Wapello, IA
Built 2005 Load: 23.8 t ADT: 9,600
LOCAL
GoodOver: SUGAR CREEK
072132805, Wapello, IA
Built 2015 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 423
LOCAL
GoodOver: BRANCH BUCKEYE CREEK
072122903, Wapello, IA
Built 1999 Load: 26.5 t ADT: 21
92ND ST
GoodOver: BUCKEYE CREEK
072122103, Wapello, IA
Built 2010 Load: 28.7 t ADT: 21
145TH AVE
GoodOver: US 63
1.4 mi. N of IA 149, Wapello, IA
Built 1997 Load: 30.4 t ADT: 1,140
US 34
GoodOver: BEAR CREEK
2.1 MI. W of JCT. IA 149, Wapello, IA
Built 2016 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,800
W PARK AVE
GoodOver: IOWA 149
1.4 mi. N of Jct. US 34, Wapello, IA
Built 2020 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 570
IA 149
GoodOver: CEDAR CREEK
2.2 MILES SOUTH OF IA 23, Wapello, IA
Built 2018 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 4,510
118TH AVE
GoodOver: VILLAGE CREEK
071130808, Wapello, IA
Built 2015 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 196
POINT ISABELLE
GoodOver: VILLAGE CREEK
071141404, Wapello, IA
Built 2013 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 110
100TH ST
GoodOver: BUCKEYE CREEK
072122101, Wapello, IA
Built 2014 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 41
H25 DAHLONEGA RD
GoodOver: CEDAR CREEK
072130301, Wapello, IA
Built 2014 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 380
DAHLONEGA RD
GoodOver: BR CEDAR CREEK
072130406, Wapello, IA
Built 2012 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 380
200TH AVE
GoodOver: SOUTH AVERY CREEK
072150102, Wapello, IA
Built 2020 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 62
118TH AVE
GoodOver: CEDAR CREEK
073131704, Wapello, IA
Built 2019 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 35
225TH AVE
GoodOver: NORTH AVERY CREEK
073153304, Wapello, IA
Built 2021 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 73
CHILLICOTHE RD
GoodOver: BNSF RR
000000000, Wapello, IA
Built 2011 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,300
CHILLICOTHE RD
GoodOver: DES MOINES RIVER
073152507, Wapello, IA
Built 2011 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,300
US 34 & 63
GoodOver: DES MOINES RIVER
0.2 MI. E OF W JCT. US 63, Wapello, IA
Built 2013 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 14,300
US 63 NB
GoodOver: JEFFERSON PARK DD
1.0 mi. S of W jct US 34, Wapello, IA
Built 2020 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,850
US 63 NB
GoodOver: COMSTOCK CREEK
0.6 MI. S OF SR T67, Wapello, IA
Built 1997 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 4,600
WALNUT ST
GoodOver: DRAINAGE
071122600, Wapello, IA
Built 1998 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 232
ALBIA RD
GoodOver: KETTLE CREEK
072142603, Wapello, IA
Built 1995 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 9,480
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.