Total bridges
261
Public highway bridges in Vermilion County
County profile · official public datasets
261 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 45.6% rated Good, 43.3% Fair, 11.1% Poor.
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Vermilion County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
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.
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Vermilion County ranks #35 of 64 Louisiana counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 11.1%). Vermilion County, Louisiana contains 261 public highway bridges. Roughly 45.6% are rated “Good,” 43.3% “Fair,” and 11.1% “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.
Total bridges
261
Public highway bridges in Vermilion County
Good condition
45.6%
119 of 261 rated 7-9
Fair condition
43.3%
113 of 261 rated 5-6
Poor condition
11.1%
29 of 261 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#35 of 64
Among Louisiana counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Share of 261 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
That is 14.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 11.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 2,100 crossings a day against 1,618 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 261 of 261 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
110 of the 261 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 45.6% 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.
LA0014-B over VERMILION R/ABBEVILLE, built 1964, carries 19,800 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 29-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 60,910 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
261 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
1930–1939
1 bridges
1940–1949
1 bridges
1950–1959
41 bridges
1960–1969
54 bridges
1970–1979
30 bridges
1980–1989
27 bridges
1990–1999
17 bridges
2000–2009
13 bridges
2010–2019
69 bridges
2020–2029
8 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 2010s, when 69 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 26.4% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 5 to 14 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1985) matches the Louisiana average (1982).
The 5 Louisiana counties nearest Vermilion County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 11.1% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1985 against a peer-group mean of 1980 is 5 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 63 Louisiana counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County | 285 | 44.2% | 44.2% | 11.6% | 1979 |
| Acadia County | 282 | 42.9% | 48.2% | 8.9% | 1978 |
| Bossier County | 270 | 30% | 55.2% | 14.8% | 1983 |
| Vermilion County (this page) | 261 | 45.6% | 43.3% | 11.1% | 1985 |
| Livingston County | 253 | 43.5% | 47% | 9.5% | 1978 |
| Jefferson Davis County | 240 | 12.1% | 69.2% | 18.8% | 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 Vermilion County's. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
Two NBI-derived peer sets for Vermilion County, both outside Louisiana so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Nearest county inventories outside LA (261 bridges here).
Nearest mean year-built outside LA (1985 here).
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Over: YOUNGS NORTH COULEE
0.1 Mi S of La 14, Vermilion, LA
Over: ROBINS CANAL
0.7 Mi E of LA 3093, Vermilion, LA
Over: SLEDGE CANAL
1.6 Mi W of Joe Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: Coulee
1.5 Mi E of Farmers Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: TIGRE BAYOU
0.3 Mi S of Jude Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: TIGRE BAYOU
0.3 Mi. W of Jude Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE
0.6 Mi W of LA 3093, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE
0.3 Mi E of US 167, Vermilion, LA
Over: LAPORT COULEE
0.1 MI. S OF LA 14, Vermilion, LA
Over: BULL HOLE CANAL
1.2 Mi N of Community Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: VERMILION RIVER
0.1 MI W. OF LA 82, Vermilion, LA
Over: QUE DE TORTUE
0.3 Mi N of Gib Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: Boston Canal
0.4 Mi W of LA 331, Vermilion, LA
Over: BAYOU
1.9 Mi E of La 13, Vermilion, LA
Over: VINCENT CANAL
0.6 MI W. OF LA 13, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE BAYOU
2.1 MI E. OF LA 35, Vermilion, LA
Over: TIGRE BAYOU
1.02 MI. W. OF LA 330, Vermilion, LA
Over: RAMSEY CANAL
4.58 MI S. OF LA 82, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE
4.4 Mi W of La 91, Vermilion, LA
Over: HUNTER CANAL
0.5 MI E of LA 35, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE BATON CANAL
0.4 Mi W of Lionel Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: GALLEQUE COULEE
0.3 Mi W of La 335, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE
2.8 Mi S of La 14, Vermilion, LA
Over: Isle Marrone Canal
2.3 Mi W of LA 695, Vermilion, LA
Over: ROBINS CANAL
3.1 Mi W of Joe Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: BAYOU CHENE
END OF LA 333, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE GRANGES
2.43 MI E. OF LA 343, Vermilion, LA
Over: DRAINAGE
1.6 MI E of LA 338, Vermilion, LA
Over: NOEL DITCH
1.7 Mi W of La 694, Vermilion, LA
Over: Coulee Des Iles
0.6 Mi N. of La 13, Vermilion, LA
Over: YOUNGS NORTH COULEE
0.62 MI S of LA 14, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE
0.4 MI. W OF La 708, Vermilion, LA
Over: PARC PERDU BAYOU
0.9 Mi N of Germain Rd, Vermilion, LA
Over: BAYOU TIGRE
0.9 MI S OF LA 14, Vermilion, LA
Over: GALLEQUE COULEE
1.5 Mi W of La 335, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE
0.2 MI W OF LA 13, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE DES ILES
1.3 Mi W. of La 35, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE
0.1 MI. W. OF LA 339, Vermilion, LA
Over: DRAINAGE
1.30 MI N. OF LA 14-B, Vermilion, LA
Over: DRAINAGE
0.4 Mi SE of LA 339, Vermilion, LA
Over: Kenny Coulee
0.5 MI N. OF LA 697, Vermilion, LA
Over: DRAINAGE CANAL
1.2 MI N. OF LA 696, Vermilion, LA
Over: CANAL
1.22 MI N. OF LA 697, Vermilion, LA
Over: CREEK
1.0 MI E. OF LA 343, Vermilion, LA
Over: CREEK
0.7 MI N. OF LA 697, Vermilion, LA
Over: CREEK
1.49 MI N. OF LA 700, Vermilion, LA
Over: DRAINAGE CANAL
2.33 MI S. OF LA 14, Vermilion, LA
Over: CANAL
2.87 MI S. OF LA 14, Vermilion, LA
Over: NOEL DITCH
0.96 MI N. OF LA 693, Vermilion, LA
Over: COULEE
1.6 Mi W of La 82, Vermilion, LA
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
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.