Total bridges
313
Public highway bridges in Natchitoches County
County profile · official public datasets
Natchitoches County, LA
313 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 46% rated Good, 38.7% Fair, 15.3% Poor.
- 313
- Public bridges
- 46%
- Good condition
- 15.3%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Natchitoches County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- 48th
- of 64 on Poor share
- 15.3%
- Poor-condition share
- 313
- public highway bridges
- 1983
- 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.
Natchitoches County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Natchitoches County ranks #48 of 64 Louisiana counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 15.3%). Natchitoches County, Louisiana contains 313 public highway bridges. Roughly 46% are rated “Good,” 38.7% “Fair,” and 15.3% “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
46%
144 of 313 rated 7-9
Fair condition
38.7%
121 of 313 rated 5-6
Poor condition
15.3%
48 of 313 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#48 of 64
Among Louisiana counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 313 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 46% (144)
Fair 38.7% (121)
Poor 15.3% (48)
Natchitoches County's Poor-condition bridges carry 81,311 vehicle crossings a day
That is 5.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 15.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,694 crossings a day against 5,561 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 313 of 313 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
30.4% of Natchitoches County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
95 of the 313 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 46% 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 22.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
I0049 over BAYOU DERBONNE, built 1986, carries 18,305 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 48-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 81,311 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Natchitoches County's bridges were built
313 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s 2
1920–1929
2 bridges
- 1930s 5
1930–1939
5 bridges
- 1940s 5
1940–1949
5 bridges
- 1950s 31
1950–1959
31 bridges
- 1960s 25
1960–1969
25 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
54 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
82 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
45 bridges
- 2000s 30
2000–2009
30 bridges
- 2010s 24
2010–2019
24 bridges
- 2020s 10
2020–2029
10 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 82 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 26.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1983) matches the Louisiana average (1982).
How Natchitoches County compares with Louisiana's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Louisiana counties nearest Natchitoches County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 15.3% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1983 against a peer-group mean of 1983 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 63 Louisiana counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon County | 341 | 57.8% | 34.6% | 7.6% | 1989 |
| Ouachita County | 337 | 27.9% | 59.3% | 12.8% | 1981 |
| Lafayette County | 322 | 44.7% | 47.5% | 7.8% | 1986 |
| St. Landry County | 317 | 43.2% | 49.2% | 7.6% | 1980 |
| Natchitoches County (this page) | 313 | 46% | 38.7% | 15.3% | 1983 |
| Washington County | 285 | 44.2% | 44.2% | 11.6% | 1979 |
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 Natchitoches 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 Natchitoches County, both outside Louisiana so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside LA (313 bridges here).
- Linn County, MO · 313 bridges
- Cedar County, NE · 313 bridges
- Jackson County, AL · 314 bridges
- Cloud County, KS · 314 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside LA (1983 here).
- Dallas County, TX · avg 1983 · 3,230 bridges
- Bexar County, TX · avg 1983 · 2,342 bridges
- Sedgwick County, KS · avg 1983 · 1,333 bridges
- Will County, IL · avg 1983 · 649 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
All bridges (313)
LA0118
FairOver: CREEK
2.85 MI. WEST OF LA 117, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1982 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 1,471
LA0493
FairOver: BAYOU BREVILLE
1.48 MI. E OF INT LA1, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1949 Load: 30.1 t ADT: 294
LA0174
FairOver: I-49
I-49 /LA 174 INTERCHANGE, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1985 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 760
LA1226
FairOver: CLEAR LAKE
2.67 MI. N OF INT US84, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1995 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 495
LA0119
FairOver: BAYOU CYPRE
9.49 MI. NORTH OF LA 8, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1964 Load: 31.8 t ADT: 189
Goldonna Rd
FairOver: CHEE CHEE CREEK
0.49 M. NE OF END LA 1226, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1984 Load: 32.1 t ADT: 133
US0071
FairOver: CREEK
8.24 MI. N OF INT LA6/US8, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1955 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,456
US0071
FairOver: COULEE
1.24 MI. NORTH OF LA 3163, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1955 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,456
US0084
FairOver: BOURBEAUX BAYOU
1.35 MI. EAST OF US 71, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1987 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 4,081
LA0001
FairOver: BAYOU JACK
0.68 MI. NORTH OF LA 6, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1969 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 14,586
LA0001
FairOver: BAYOU JACK-O
2.79 MI. NORTH OF LA 6, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1975 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 8,966
LA0001
FairOver: DITCH
1.2 MI. N OF N INT LA119, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1936 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,835
LA0156
FairOver: BAYOU TERRY
1.1 MI. E OF INT LA9, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1956 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 825
LA0156
FairOver: CREEK
5.9 MI. E OF INT LA9, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1926 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 597
LA0118
FairOver: CREEK
.92 MI. E OF INT LA117, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1968 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 164
TRAM ROAD
FairOver: STAGESTAND CREEK
PEASON RIDGE TRAIN. AREA, Natchitoches, LA
Built 2007 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40
ROCK QUARRY ROAD
FairOver: ODOM CREEK
VE817710, Natchitoches, LA
Built 2005 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40
FDR 337
FairOver: TIGER BRANCH
NATIONAL FOREST ROAD, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1970 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 30
LA0491
FairOver: CANE RIVER
0.15 MI. EAST OF LA 1, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1970 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 237
LA0119
FairOver: CANE RIVER
0.01 Mi. E. OF LA 494, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1980 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 2,886
POSEY RD
FairOver: I-49
4.42 MI. NORTH OF LA 6, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1985 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 1,530
Grappes Bluff Rd
FairOver: SIMS BAYOU
GRAPPES BLUFF ROAD, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1994 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 264
Goldonna Rd
FairOver: LICK BRANCH
5.83 MI. SOUTH OF LA 156, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1995 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 233
LA0493
FairOver: BAYOU BREVELLE
.44 MI. E OF INT LA1, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1949 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 294
LA0001
FairOver: BAYOU PIERRE
1.0 MI N OF JCT LA 3191, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1975 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 1,988
LA0001
FairOver: SIBLEY LAKE
.70 MI N OF JCT LA 6, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1969 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 14,586
LA0490
FairOver: CANE RIVER @ MARCO
1.39 MI. S OF INT 3279, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1985 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 138
Goldonna Rd
FairOver: LITTLE FORDOCHE CREEK
6 M. N. OF END MAINT. LA, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1995 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 233
LA0009
FairOver: DRY CHOCTAW CREEK
0.91 MI. NORTH OF LA 479, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1977 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 282
LA0118
FairOver: CREEK
3.19 MI. WEST OF LA 117, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1982 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 1,471
LA0009
FairOver: BRICKYARD BRANCH
1.79 MI. NORTH OF LA 126, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1977 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 1,131
LA0479
FairOver: RAGAN CREEK
2.4 MI. E OF INT LA9, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1985 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 719
LA0479
FairOver: RAGAN CREEK RELIEF
2.9 MI. E OF INT LA9, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1985 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 719
LA0479
FairOver: LUSTER CREEK
4.6 MI. E OF INT LA9, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1985 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 719
I0049
FairOver: B.JULIAN/LONGLOIS HILL
1.13 MI. NORTH OF LA 120, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1988 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 18,305
I0049
FairOver: St. Julian/Longlois Hill
1.13 MI. NORTH OF LA 120, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1988 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 28,142
I0049
FairOver: KISATCHIE BAYOU
7.29 MI. NORTH OF LA 119, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1988 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 18,305
I0049
FairOver: KISATCHIE BAYOU
7.29 MI. NORTH OF LA 119, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1988 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 28,142
LA0494
FairOver: CANE RIVER
1.78 MI. N OF INT LA119, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1974 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 18,361
FORESTRY ROAD
FairOver: REAUGAULIE CREEK
FORT POLK, Natchitoches, LA
Built 2005 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 40
LA0487
FairOver: HOLLIS CREEK
6.03 MI. N OF LA120, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1989 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 968
I0049
FairOver: COMITTE BAYOU
1.04 MI. SOUTH OF LA 119, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1984 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 18,305
LA0480
FairOver: SIMS BAYOU
3.7 MI. W OF INT LA3163, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1982 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 913
LA1226
FairOver: BLACK LAKE BAYOU
2.0 MI. N OF INT LA1227, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1981 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 495
I0049
FairOver: BARBUE BAYOU TRIB.
2.47 MI. NORTH OF LA 490, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1984 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 18,305
I0049
FairOver: BARBUE BAYOU TRIB.
2.47 MI. NORTH OF LA 490, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1984 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 28,142
I0049
FairOver: COMITTE BAYOU
1.04 MI. SOUTH OF LA 119, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1984 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 28,142
I0049
FairOver: THOMPSON CREEK
0.16 MI. NORTH OF LA 174, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1985 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 16,334
LA0504
FairOver: RIO-HONDO-CREEK
3.46 MI. N OF INT LA6, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1979 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 1,737
Main St in Natchez
FairOver: BAYOU NATCHEZ
0.09 MILES WEST OF LA 1, Natchitoches, LA
Built 1984 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 732
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.