Total bridges
124
Public highway bridges in Caldwell County
County profile · official public datasets
Caldwell County, LA
124 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 57.3% rated Good, 34.7% Fair, 8.1% Poor.
- 124
- Public bridges
- 57.3%
- Good condition
- 8.1%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Caldwell County posts a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- Top 34%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 8.1%
- Poor-condition share
- 124
- 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.
Caldwell County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Caldwell County ranks #22 of 64 Louisiana counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 8.1%). Caldwell County, Louisiana contains 124 public highway bridges. Roughly 57.3% are rated “Good,” 34.7% “Fair,” and 8.1% “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
57.3%
71 of 124 rated 7-9
Fair condition
34.7%
43 of 124 rated 5-6
Poor condition
8.1%
10 of 124 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#22 of 64
Among Louisiana counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 124 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 57.3% (71)
Fair 34.7% (43)
Poor 8.1% (10)
Caldwell County's Poor-condition bridges carry 3,798 vehicle crossings a day
That is 1.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 7.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 422 crossings a day against 1,596 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 123 of 124 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
29.8% of Caldwell County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
37 of the 124 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 57.3% 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 28.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
LA0126 over BRIDGE CREEK, built 1953, carries 1,092 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 10-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 3,798 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Caldwell County's bridges were built
124 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1930s 6
1930–1939
6 bridges
- 1940s 5
1940–1949
5 bridges
- 1950s 8
1950–1959
8 bridges
- 1960s 5
1960–1969
5 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
23 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
36 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
17 bridges
- 2000s 14
2000–2009
14 bridges
- 2010s 9
2010–2019
9 bridges
- 2020s 1
2020–2029
1 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 36 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 29% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1982) matches the Louisiana average (1982).
How Caldwell County compares with Louisiana's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Louisiana counties nearest Caldwell County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 8.1% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1982 against a peer-group mean of 1980 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 63 Louisiana counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County | 131 | 64.9% | 32.1% | 3.1% | 1989 |
| Lafourche County | 130 | 39.2% | 44.6% | 16.2% | 1981 |
| St. Mary County | 124 | 31.5% | 62.1% | 6.5% | 1975 |
| Caldwell County (this page) | 124 | 57.3% | 34.7% | 8.1% | 1982 |
| Union County | 121 | 21.5% | 66.9% | 11.6% | 1977 |
| St. Martin County | 116 | 37.9% | 53.4% | 8.6% | 1980 |
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 Caldwell 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 Caldwell County, both outside Louisiana so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside LA (124 bridges here).
- Bannock County, ID · 124 bridges
- Breathitt County, KY · 124 bridges
- Bollinger County, MO · 124 bridges
- Park County, MT · 124 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside LA (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 (43)
LA0506
FairOver: CREEK
2.8 MI EAST OF US 165, Caldwell, LA
Built 1960 Load: 11.8 t ADT: 411
LA0850
FairOver: CREEK
.7 MI NORTH OF LA 849, Caldwell, LA
Built 1936 Load: 12.4 t ADT: 468
LA0004
FairOver: SUGAR CREEK
1.4 MI EAST OF LA 557, Caldwell, LA
Built 1954 Load: 15.4 t ADT: 311
LA0004
FairOver: SQUIRREL CREEK
1.0 MI WEST OF LA 557, Caldwell, LA
Built 1954 Load: 15.9 t ADT: 338
LA0506
FairOver: BLACK BAYOU
.4 MI WEST OF US 165, Caldwell, LA
Built 1953 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 306
LA0127
FairOver: CASTOR RELIEF
3.4 MI N OF LA 125, Caldwell, LA
Built 1972 Load: 16.8 t ADT: 314
LA0506
FairOver: CREEK
.3 MI WEST OF US 165, Caldwell, LA
Built 1978 Load: 17.1 t ADT: 306
LA0004
FairOver: BILLS CREEK
4.57 M W of LA 846, Caldwell, LA
Built 1971 Load: 18.8 t ADT: 311
LA0004
FairOver: CREW BAYOU
2.7 MI EAST OF LA 559, Caldwell, LA
Built 1957 Load: 20.0 t ADT: 1,558
LA0547
FairOver: CREEK
3.95 MI W OF LA 126, Caldwell, LA
Built 1982 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 606
US0165
FairOver: BLACK BAYOU RELIEF
4.0 MILES SOUTH OF LA 4 &, Caldwell, LA
Built 1945 Load: 25.3 t ADT: 12,669
LA0547
FairOver: BRUSHY CREEK
0.68 M W of LA 845, Caldwell, LA
Built 1982 Load: 25.9 t ADT: 606
LA0004
FairOver: CREEK
1.2 MI WEST OF LA 3239, Caldwell, LA
Built 1978 Load: 26.2 t ADT: 1,931
Childress Rd
FairOver: CREEK
0.8M NE of Dunn Road, Caldwell, LA
Built 1978 Load: 26.2 t ADT: 60
LA0127
FairOver: CASTOR CREEK
3.8 MI NORTH OF LA 125, Caldwell, LA
Built 1970 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 314
LA0127
FairOver: CASTOR CR RELIEF
3.7 MI NORTH OF LA 125, Caldwell, LA
Built 1970 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 314
LA0844
FairOver: HURRICANE CREEK
0.81 M S of LA 547, Caldwell, LA
Built 1981 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 955
LA0850
FairOver: HURRICANE CREEK
6.1 MI NORTH OF LA 849, Caldwell, LA
Built 1982 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 468
LA0846
FairOver: CREEK
4.33 MI N OF LA 4, Caldwell, LA
Built 1982 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 650
LA0851
FairOver: BOGGY BAYOU
0.20 M W of LA 849, Caldwell, LA
Built 1983 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 166
US0165
FairOver: OUACHITA RIVER @ COLUMBI
0.48 M S of LA 4, Caldwell, LA
Built 2007 Load: 28.2 t ADT: 13,633
LA0133
FairOver: BAYOU LAFOURCHE
2.6 MI NORTH OF LA 4, Caldwell, LA
Built 1949 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 1,415
LA0133
FairOver: BAYOU LAFOURCHE CUT OFF
3.85 MI NORTH OF LA 4, Caldwell, LA
Built 1951 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 1,415
US0165
FairOver: CREEK
1.6 MI. N OF LA 844, Caldwell, LA
Built 1945 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,071
LA0126
FairOver: CREEK
2.0 MI EAST OF LA 3239, Caldwell, LA
Built 1971 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 1,092
US0165
FairOver: UNION PACIFIC R/R
2 MI. S FROM JCT LA 847 &, Caldwell, LA
Built 2007 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 11,282
US0165
FairOver: UNION PACIFIC R/R
2 MI. S FROM JCT LA 847 &, Caldwell, LA
Built 2007 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 12,669
US0165
FairOver: LITTLE BLACK BAYOU
0.05 M N of LA 506, Caldwell, LA
Built 2004 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 13,633
LA0126
FairOver: DRAIN
6.1 MI SOUTH OF LA 849, Caldwell, LA
Built 1984 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 117
LA0126
FairOver: HURRICANE CREEK
2.5 MI N OF LA 851, Caldwell, LA
Built 1982 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 1,092
LA0004
FairOver: LOST CREEK RELIEF
1.47 MI WEST OF LA 846, Caldwell, LA
Built 1976 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 311
LA0004
FairOver: LOST CREEK
1.5 MI WEST OFLA 846, Caldwell, LA
Built 1978 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 311
LA0004
FairOver: CREEK
1.3 MI WEST OF LA 3239, Caldwell, LA
Built 1978 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 1,931
LA0126
FairOver: CREEK
9.1 MI W OF LA 3239, Caldwell, LA
Built 1974 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 611
LA0126
FairOver: CREEK
8.9 MI W OF LA 3239, Caldwell, LA
Built 1974 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 611
LA0126
FairOver: MESSER CREEK
6.0 MI W OF LA 3239, Caldwell, LA
Built 1977 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 611
LA0127
FairOver: CASTOR CR RELIEF
3.3 MI N OF LA 125, Caldwell, LA
Built 1972 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 314
LA0127
FairOver: CASTOR RELIEF
3.5 MI NORTH OF LA 125, Caldwell, LA
Built 1972 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 314
LA0506
FairOver: CASTOR CREEK
6.4 MI WEST OF US 165, Caldwell, LA
Built 1975 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 306
LA0506
FairOver: CREEK
.5 MI W OF US 165, Caldwell, LA
Built 1996 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 306
Adams Cemetery Rd
FairOver: BANISTER CREEK
0.5M W of LA 506, Caldwell, LA
Built 1988 Load: 48.9 t ADT: 90
LA0506
FairOver: BLACK BAYOU
1.90 Mi E OF LA 8, Caldwell, LA
Built 2015 Load: 61.2 t ADT: 300
Hester Rd
FairOver: CREEK
0.8 MI N of LA 547, Caldwell, LA
Built 1988 Load: 74.5 t ADT: 80
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.