Total bridges
130
Public highway bridges in Rowan County
County profile · official public datasets
Rowan County, KY
130 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 34.6% rated Good, 60.8% Fair, 4.6% Poor.
- 130
- Public bridges
- 34.6%
- Good condition
- 4.6%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Rowan 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
- 4.6%
- Poor-condition share
- 130
- public highway bridges
- 1981
- 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.
Rowan County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Rowan County ranks #34 of 120 Kentucky counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4.6%). Rowan County, Kentucky contains 130 public highway bridges. Roughly 34.6% are rated “Good,” 60.8% “Fair,” and 4.6% “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
34.6%
45 of 130 rated 7-9
Fair condition
60.8%
79 of 130 rated 5-6
Poor condition
4.6%
6 of 130 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#34 of 120
Among Kentucky counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 130 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 34.6% (45)
Fair 60.8% (79)
Poor 4.6% (6)
Rowan County's Poor-condition bridges carry 892 vehicle crossings a day
That is 0.3% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 149 crossings a day against 1,891 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 129 of 130 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
35.4% of Rowan County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
46 of the 130 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 34.6% 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 59.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
HOLLY FORK RD. over Fill Material, built 1975, carries 532 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 6-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 892 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Rowan County's bridges were built
130 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s 1
1920–1929
1 bridges
- 1930s 8
1930–1939
8 bridges
- 1940s 9
1940–1949
9 bridges
- 1950s 9
1950–1959
9 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
14 bridges
- 1970s 11
1970–1979
11 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
17 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
28 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
22 bridges
- 2010s 8
2010–2019
8 bridges
- 2020s 3
2020–2029
3 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 28 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1981) matches the Kentucky average (1978).
How Rowan County compares with Kentucky's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Kentucky counties nearest Rowan County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4.6% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1981 against a peer-group mean of 1977 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 119 Kentucky counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knott County | 134 | 35.8% | 51.5% | 12.7% | 1981 |
| Laurel County | 131 | 22.1% | 73.3% | 4.6% | 1976 |
| Campbell County | 130 | 33.1% | 59.2% | 7.7% | 1979 |
| Rowan County (this page) | 130 | 34.6% | 60.8% | 4.6% | 1981 |
| Knox County | 127 | 19.7% | 72.4% | 7.9% | 1979 |
| Union County | 127 | 21.3% | 70.9% | 7.9% | 1972 |
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 Rowan 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 Rowan County, both outside Kentucky so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside KY (130 bridges here).
- Kit Carson County, CO · 130 bridges
- Bay County, FL · 130 bridges
- Lowndes County, GA · 130 bridges
- Whitfield County, GA · 130 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside KY (1981 here).
- Franklin County, OH · avg 1981 · 922 bridges
- Greenville County, SC · avg 1981 · 635 bridges
- Montgomery County, OH · avg 1981 · 632 bridges
- McLean County, IL · avg 1981 · 624 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (79)
TATER LICK RD
FairOver: NORTH FORK TRIPLETT CK
.098 MI W JCT KY 377, Rowan, KY
Built 1998 Load: 38.4 t ADT: 30
I-64 NC
FairOver: BULL FORK CRK & ROAD
WBL 2.4 MI W OF KY32 NTRC, Rowan, KY
Built 1968 Load: 38.5 t ADT: 10,271
I-64
FairOver: BULL FORK CRK & ROAD
EBL 2.4 MI W OF KY32 NTRC, Rowan, KY
Built 1968 Load: 38.5 t ADT: 10,271
US-60
FairOver: E.FRK.TRIPLETT CREEK
.2 MI EAST-JCT KY 799, Rowan, KY
Built 1988 Load: 38.7 t ADT: 4,206
KY-377
FairOver: CLEAR CREEK
1.9 MI SW OF W-JCT KY 799, Rowan, KY
Built 1939 Load: 38.8 t ADT: 2,929
KY-377
FairOver: ROCK FORK
.25 MI SW OF W-JCT KY 799, Rowan, KY
Built 1939 Load: 38.8 t ADT: 2,929
US-60
FairOver: TOWN BRANCH
1077 FT W JCT KY 32 W, Rowan, KY
Built 1993 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 13,849
KY-32
FairOver: DEEP FORD BRANCH
1.8 MI S JCT US 60, Rowan, KY
Built 1999 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 3,583
HOLLY FORK RD
FairOver: WHITE BRANCH
.1 MI E OF JCT KY 799, Rowan, KY
Built 1949 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 466
HOLLY FORK RD
FairOver: BURTON BRANCH
.8 MI E OF JCT KY 799, Rowan, KY
Built 1949 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 466
HOLLY FORK RD
FairOver: HOLLY FORK
2 MI E OF JCT KY 799, Rowan, KY
Built 1949 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 532
KY-377
FairOver: NICKLES HOLLOW BRANCH
1.6 MI SOU. OF LEWIS CL, Rowan, KY
Built 1951 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 707
WEST WILKERSON BOU
FairOver: OYLEY BRANCH
407MIE. JCT KY 32 W, Rowan, KY
Built 1991 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 15,005
BIG BRUSHY RD
FairOver: BIG BRUSHY CREEK
.1 MI N OF N-TERM KY 785, Rowan, KY
Built 1960 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 127
BIG WOODS RD
FairOver: MID. PRONG-BRUSHY CK
.1 MI W JCT KY 785, Rowan, KY
Built 1994 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 370
I-64 NC
FairOver: KY 32
WBL @KY 32-MOREHEAD-NTRCH, Rowan, KY
Built 1968 Load: 41.3 t ADT: 6,434
I-64
FairOver: KY32
EBL @KY 32-MOREHEAD-NTRCH, Rowan, KY
Built 1968 Load: 41.3 t ADT: 6,434
UPPER CRANEY RD
FairOver: CRANEY CREEK
0.52 MI NORTH KY 1167, Rowan, KY
Built 2000 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 110
KY-799
FairOver: N.FK.TRIPLETT CREEK
.30 MI EAST OF JCT KY 377, Rowan, KY
Built 1968 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 652
KY-1274
FairOver: LICKING RIVER
AT MENIFEE - ROWAN CL, Rowan, KY
Built 1968 Load: 42.3 t ADT: 916
UPPER CRANEY RD
FairOver: CRANEY CREEK
0.740 MI NORTH KY 1167, Rowan, KY
Built 2000 Load: 43.4 t ADT: 110
KY 519
FairOver: TRIPLETT CREEK
.3 MI S. OF JCT. US 60, Rowan, KY
Built 2008 Load: 47.4 t ADT: 10,421
KY-32
FairOver: LITTLE BRUSHY CREEK
.30 MI SOU. OF JCT KY 785, Rowan, KY
Built 1973 Load: 47.7 t ADT: 9,897
KY 519
FairOver: MORGAN FORK
1.86 mi S of Jct US 60, Rowan, KY
Built 2008 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 3,588
KY-2342
FairOver: Morgan Fork
.1 MI.W JCT. KY 519, Rowan, KY
Built 1993 Load: 51.0 t ADT: 2,397
WILLIAMS BR
FairOver: CHRISTY CREEK
.1 MI S OF JCT KY 32, Rowan, KY
Built 1978 Load: 54.5 t ADT: 187
OAK GROVE ROAD
FairOver: NORTH CRANEY CREEK
3.6 MI.S.W.OF JCT.KY 173, Rowan, KY
Built 1983 Load: 56.2 t ADT: 104
US-60
FairOver: HAYES BRANCH
.10 MI NE JCT KY 174, Rowan, KY
Built 1988 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 2,717
HORSEMAN CEM 1140
FairOver: BULL FORK
100 west of bull fork, Rowan, KY
Built 2016 Load: 67.8 t ADT: 40
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.