County profile · official public datasets

Shelby County, KY

137 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 10.2% rated Good, 81.8% Fair, 8% Poor.

137
Public bridges
10.2%
Good condition
8%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Shelby County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

75th
of 120 on Poor share
8%
Poor-condition share
137
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.

Shelby County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Shelby County ranks #75 of 120 Kentucky counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 8%). Shelby County, Kentucky contains 137 public highway bridges. Roughly 10.2% are rated “Good,” 81.8% “Fair,” and 8% “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

137

Public highway bridges in Shelby County

Good condition

10.2%

14 of 137 rated 7-9

Fair condition

81.8%

112 of 137 rated 5-6

Poor condition

8%

11 of 137 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#75 of 120

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

Condition distribution

Share of 137 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
10.2% (14)
Fair
81.8% (112)
Poor
8% (11)

Shelby County's Poor-condition bridges carry 10,309 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.3% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 8% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 937 crossings a day against 5,690 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 137 of 137 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

34.3% of Shelby County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

47 of the 137 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 10.2% 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 19.9% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

KY 362 over BULLSKIN CREEK, built 1952, carries 2,052 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 11-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 10,309 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Shelby County's bridges were built

137 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 29 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1982) matches the Kentucky average (1978).

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

How Shelby County compares with Kentucky's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Kentucky counties nearest Shelby County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 8% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1982 against a peer-group mean of 1979 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 119 Kentucky counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Shelby County and the 5 Kentucky counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Kenton County 142 7.7%
Boone County 138 4.3%
Shelby County (this page) 137 8%
Lincoln County 136 2.9%
Logan County 135 3.7%
Knott County 134 12.7%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside KY (137 bridges here).

Similar average build year

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

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

All 137 Good 14 Fair 112 Poor 11

All bridges (137)

KY 148

Fair

Over: BRASHEARS CREEK

1.4 MI E OF KY 55, Shelby, KY

Built 1978 Load: 63.4 t ADT: 1,424

I-64 WB

Fair

Over: BZRD RST RD & JEPTHA CRK

1.1 MI W OF KY 395, Shelby, KY

Built 2007 Load: 63.6 t ADT: 21,992

CHRISTIANBURG RD

Fair

Over: SIXMILE CREEK

1.2 MI W OF KY 395, Shelby, KY

Built 2008 Load: 66.0 t ADT: 156

KY 1848

Fair

Over: BUCK CREEK

1.1 MI N OF KY 55, Shelby, KY

Built 2001 Load: 66.7 t ADT: 1,055

I-64 WB

Fair

Over: BOB JEFF RD

2.4 MI W OF KY 395, Shelby, KY

Built 2007 Load: 70.2 t ADT: 21,992

I-64 EB

Fair

Over: BOB JEFF RD

2.4 MI W OF KY 395, Shelby, KY

Built 2007 Load: 70.2 t ADT: 21,992

KY 44

Fair

Over: BEECH CREEK

0.9 MI E OF KY 714, Shelby, KY

Built 1978 Load: 74.0 t ADT: 1,585

KY 43

Fair

Over: DUTCH FORK

1.5 MI N OF KY 241, Shelby, KY

Built 1932 Load: 84.3 t ADT: 477

I-64

Fair

Over: DRY RUN

0.20 MI E OF KY 55, Shelby, KY

Built 1960 Load: 89.2 t ADT: 48,476

KY 2861

Fair

Over: MEADOW RUN

3.2 MI N OF KY 148, Shelby, KY

Built 1975 Load: 97.2 t ADT: 915

KY 43

Fair

Over: E CLEAR CREEK

1.2 MI N OF KY 12, Shelby, KY

Built 1970 Load: 98.9 t ADT: 1,966

KY 55

Fair

Over: DRY RUN

0.4 MI N OF US 60, Shelby, KY

Built 2006 Load: 99.8 t ADT: 12,922

KY 636

Good

Over: LITTLE BEACH CREEK

1.1 M N OF SPENCER CL, Shelby, KY

Built 2021 Load: 31.8 t ADT: 256

KY 53

Good

Over: NS RAILROAD

0.3 MI S OF US 60, Shelby, KY

Built 2023 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 15,113

KY 1005

Good

Over: MULBERRY CREEK

450 FT E OF KY 43, Shelby, KY

Built 1953 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,002

KY 1005

Good

Over: TRIB TO GUIST CREEK

2.6 MI W OF KY 395, Shelby, KY

Built 1953 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 597

KY 714

Good

Over: WOLF RUN

2 MI S OF KY 1790, Shelby, KY

Built 2003 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 245

KY 55 SB

Good

Over: CLEAR CREEK

1.0 MI N OF JCT KY 53, Shelby, KY

Built 2006 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 4,631

KY 55 NB

Good

Over: CLEAR CREEK

1.0 MI N OF JCT KY 53, Shelby, KY

Built 2006 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 5,046

KY 55

Good

Over: I-64

1.55 MI S OF US 60, Shelby, KY

Built 2013 Load: 47.0 t ADT: 6,108

I-64 WB

Good

Over: NS RAILROAD

4.4 MI W OF KY 395, Shelby, KY

Built 2007 Load: 48.0 t ADT: 21,992

I-64 EB

Good

Over: NS RAILROAD

4.4 MI W OF KY 395, Shelby, KY

Built 2007 Load: 48.0 t ADT: 21,992

KY 362

Good

Over: JUNKINS RUN

2.15 MI W OF KY 1848, Shelby, KY

Built 2011 Load: 49.6 t ADT: 944

KY 1399

Good

Over: NS RAILROAD

1.5 MI S OF KY 1848, Shelby, KY

Built 1993 Load: 52.4 t ADT: 1,239

CAT RIDGE RD

Good

Over: RED RIVER

0.5 MI E OF KY 44, Shelby, KY

Built 2016 Load: 52.5 t ADT: 447

OLIVE BRANCH RD

Good

Over: WISE RUN

0.5 MI W OF KY 2861, Shelby, KY

Built 2007 Load: 62.5 t ADT: 54

JAIL HILL RD

Poor

Over: CLEAR CREEK

0.1 MI N OF US 60 WB, Shelby, KY

Built 1982 Load: 0.1 t ADT: 145

HEBRON RD

Poor

Over: FOX RUN

150 FT N OF SCOTT STA RD, Shelby, KY

Built 1980 Load: 11.2 t ADT: 75

CLORE JACKSON RD

Poor

Over: FOX RUN

0.6 MI W OF KY 55, Shelby, KY

Built 1919 Load: 14.5 t ADT: 117

KY 362

Poor

Over: FIBLES RUN

100 FT W OF KY 1315, Shelby, KY

Built 1952 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 2,052

KY 148

Poor

Over: GUIST CREEK

3.0 MI W OF KY 44, Shelby, KY

Built 1948 Load: 30.0 t ADT: 1,200

KY 362

Poor

Over: BULLSKIN CREEK

400 FT W OF KY 53, Shelby, KY

Built 1952 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 2,052

KY 1779

Poor

Over: GUIST CREEK LAKE

1.3 MI E OF KY 1871, Shelby, KY

Built 1960 Load: 32.3 t ADT: 1,596

KY 1790

Poor

Over: I-64

2.0 MI W OF KY 714, Shelby, KY

Built 1960 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 619

KY 44

Poor

Over: LITTLE BEECH CREEK

1.1 MI E OF KY 714, Shelby, KY

Built 1933 Load: 43.9 t ADT: 1,585

BRUNERSTOWN RD

Poor

Over: BULLSKIN CREEK

1.75 MI W OF KY 55, Shelby, KY

Built 1982 Load: 46.7 t ADT: 152

KY 12

Poor

Over: RJ CORMAN RAILROAD

70 FT W OF KY 1005, Shelby, KY

Built 1976 Load: 49.9 t ADT: 716

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

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →
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.