County profile · official public datasets

Simpson County, KY

50 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 36% rated Good, 58% Fair, 6% Poor.

50
Public bridges
36%
Good condition
6%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Simpson 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 40%
lowest Poor share in state
6%
Poor-condition share
50
public highway bridges
1991
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.

Simpson County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Simpson County ranks #48 of 120 Kentucky counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 6%). Simpson County, Kentucky contains 50 public highway bridges. Roughly 36% are rated “Good,” 58% “Fair,” and 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.

Total bridges

50

Public highway bridges in Simpson County

Good condition

36%

18 of 50 rated 7-9

Fair condition

58%

29 of 50 rated 5-6

Poor condition

6%

3 of 50 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#48 of 120

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

Condition distribution

Share of 50 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
36% (18)
Fair
58% (29)
Poor
6% (3)

Simpson County's Poor-condition bridges carry 3,600 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 6% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,200 crossings a day against 1,668 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 50 of 50 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

20% of Simpson County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

10 of the 50 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 36% 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 70.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

KY-100 over SULPHUR FORK CREEK, built 1930, carries 2,537 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 3-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 3,600 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Simpson County's bridges were built

50 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 13 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 26% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1991, 13 years newer than the Kentucky average of 1978.

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

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

The 5 Kentucky counties nearest Simpson County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 6% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1991 against a peer-group mean of 1977 is 14 years newer.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Simpson County and the 5 Kentucky counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Larue County 54 7.4%
Elliott County 53 15.1%
Jackson County 51 9.8%
Simpson County (this page) 50 6%
Bracken County 49 18.4%
Menifee County 49 0%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside KY (50 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside KY (1991 here).

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

All 50 Good 18 Fair 29 Poor 3

Fair-condition bridges (29)

KY-664

Fair

Over: NEELEY BRANCH

1.2 MI. W. -JCT. KY 383, Simpson, KY

Built 1940 Load: 2.7 t ADT: 753

KY-1170

Fair

Over: SPRING CREEK

.75 MI EAST OF JCT KY 103, Simpson, KY

Built 1979 Load: 23.7 t ADT: 187

LAKE SPRING ROAD

Fair

Over: SHARPS BRANCH

.3 MI S JCT US 31W, Simpson, KY

Built 1999 Load: 26.5 t ADT: 451

I-65

Fair

Over: WEST FORK DRAKES CREEK

4.33 MILES N. STATE LINE, Simpson, KY

Built 2007 Load: 30.3 t ADT: 51,229

Bracken Prices-Mi

Fair

Over: Sulphur Spring

.3M W of KY 1885, Simpson, KY

Built 2012 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 53

Saddler Ford Rd

Fair

Over: West Fork Drakes Creek

0.9 MI S JCT CR 1042, Simpson, KY

Built 2016 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 126

KY-73

Fair

Over: W FK DRAKES CREEK

.15 MI N OF JCT W/KY 100, Simpson, KY

Built 1954 Load: 33.1 t ADT: 2,681

KY-591

Fair

Over: RED RIVER

.1 MI S OF JCT KY 1885, Simpson, KY

Built 1959 Load: 33.8 t ADT: 168

KY 1008

Fair

Over: SEABOARD RAILROAD

.20 MI EAST OF JCT US 31W, Simpson, KY

Built 1969 Load: 36.2 t ADT: 9,683

I-65

Fair

Over: KY 100

5.97 MI N OF STATE LINE, Simpson, KY

Built 2008 Load: 36.7 t ADT: 51,483

I-65

Fair

Over: U.S. 31W

1.98 MI N OF STATE LINE, Simpson, KY

Built 2007 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 51,229

LAKE SPRING ROAD

Fair

Over: SHARPS BRANCH

1.4 MI S JCT US 31W, Simpson, KY

Built 1992 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 451

KY-103

Fair

Over: SPRING CREEK

1.0 MI N OF JCT KY 100, Simpson, KY

Built 1935 Load: 40.9 t ADT: 303

MENNONITE CHURCH R

Fair

Over: SPRING CREEK

.1 MI N KY 1170, Simpson, KY

Built 1990 Load: 41.0 t ADT: 43

KUMMER ROAD

Fair

Over: NEELY BRANCH

.1 MI S KY 383, Simpson, KY

Built 1990 Load: 41.6 t ADT: 306

NEOSHEO ROAD

Fair

Over: SULPHUR SPRING CREEK

0.2 MI. NORTH JCT. KY 664, Simpson, KY

Built 1984 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 50

KY-100

Fair

Over: WEST FK-DRAKES CREEK

1.9 MI E US 31W, Simpson, KY

Built 1990 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 9,307

SPOUT SPRINGS ROAD

Fair

Over: TRIB-MID FK DRAKES CK

1 MI E. OF KY 585, Simpson, KY

Built 1991 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 59

KY-1434

Fair

Over: W FK DRAKES CREEK

1.7 MI E OF JCT US 31W, Simpson, KY

Built 1982 Load: 46.4 t ADT: 253

KY-1171

Fair

Over: WEST FORK DRAKES CREEK

1 MI N OF JCT KY 1788, Simpson, KY

Built 1973 Load: 46.5 t ADT: 461

KY 100

Fair

Over: CSX R.R. & R.R ST

0.5 MI.EAST -JCT 31W, Simpson, KY

Built 1984 Load: 47.7 t ADT: 3,860

VANCES MILL ROAD

Fair

Over: SINKING CREEK

1.51 MI W JCT. 31W, Simpson, KY

Built 2004 Load: 48.1 t ADT: 151

KY 1008

Fair

Over: SEABOARD RAILROAD

0.40 MI E OF U.S. 31W, Simpson, KY

Built 2001 Load: 48.4 t ADT: 4,684

EUBANKS FORD ROAD

Fair

Over: SULPHUR FORK CREEK

1.6 MI E. JCT CR 1120, Simpson, KY

Built 2007 Load: 49.2 t ADT: 45

I-65

Fair

Over: CSX RAILROAD

2.48 MI N OF STATE LINE, Simpson, KY

Built 2007 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 51,229

I-65

Fair

Over: WEST FORK DRAKES CREEK

13.06 MI N OF STATE LINE, Simpson, KY

Built 2007 Load: 53.3 t ADT: 51,483

KY-1170

Fair

Over: SPRING CREEK

1.9 MI EAST OF JCT KY 103, Simpson, KY

Built 1979 Load: 54.2 t ADT: 187

US-31W

Fair

Over: SINKING CREEK

1 MI S OF WARREN CO LINE, Simpson, KY

Built 1941 Load: 79.7 t ADT: 8,238

KY-383

Fair

Over: RED RIVER

.20 MI SOU. OF JCT KY 591, Simpson, KY

Built 1978 Load: 97.1 t ADT: 406

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

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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.