County profile · official public datasets

Vernon County, LA

341 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 57.8% rated Good, 34.6% Fair, 7.6% Poor.

341
Public bridges
57.8%
Good condition
7.6%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Vernon 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 28%
lowest Poor share in state
7.6%
Poor-condition share
341
public highway bridges
1989
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.

Vernon County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Vernon County ranks #18 of 64 Louisiana counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 7.6%). Vernon County, Louisiana contains 341 public highway bridges. Roughly 57.8% are rated “Good,” 34.6% “Fair,” and 7.6% “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

341

Public highway bridges in Vernon County

Good condition

57.8%

197 of 341 rated 7-9

Fair condition

34.6%

118 of 341 rated 5-6

Poor condition

7.6%

26 of 341 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#18 of 64

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

Condition distribution

Share of 341 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
57.8% (197)
Fair
34.6% (118)
Poor
7.6% (26)

Vernon County's Poor-condition bridges carry 14,420 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.9% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 7.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 555 crossings a day against 2,622 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 338 of 341 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

17.6% of Vernon County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

60 of the 341 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 57.8% 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 25% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

JEAN ST over CASTOR BAYOU TRIB., built 1970, carries 3,600 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 26-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 14,420 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Vernon County's bridges were built

341 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 70 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1989, 7 years newer than the Louisiana average of 1982.

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

How Vernon County compares with Louisiana's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Louisiana counties nearest Vernon County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 7.6% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1989 against a peer-group mean of 1981 is 8 years newer.

Showing the 5 closest of 63 Louisiana counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Vernon County and the 5 Louisiana counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
St. Tammany County 360 6.1%
Vernon County (this page) 341 7.6%
Ouachita County 337 12.8%
Lafayette County 322 7.8%
St. Landry County 317 7.6%
Natchitoches County 313 15.3%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside LA (341 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside LA (1989 here).

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

All bridges (341)

LA0392

Fair

Over: MILL CREEK

1.6 MI WEST OF LA 111, Vernon, LA

Built 1965 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 735

LA1211

Fair

Over: CREEK

4.73 MILES WEST OF US 171, Vernon, LA

Built 1958 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,663

HAWKS RD

Fair

Over: FLAT CREEK

1.2M WEST OF US 171, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 490

MILL CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: DRAKES CREEK

VE823384, Vernon, LA

Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 100

MILL CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: WHISKEY CHITTO CREEK

VE 858 387, Vernon, LA

Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 50

MILL CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: WHISKEY CHITTO CREEK

VE 859 388, Vernon, LA

Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 50

RIVERTON DRIVE

Fair

Over: BAYOU ZOURIE TRIB

VE 814 412, Vernon, LA

Built 1990 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300

PERIMETER ROAD

Fair

Over: COMRADE CREEK

VE 818 668, Vernon, LA

Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

PERIMETER ROAD

Fair

Over: MARTIN CREEK

VE 753 653, Vernon, LA

Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

PERIMETER ROAD

Fair

Over: DOWDEN CREEK

VE 713 664, Vernon, LA

Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

HAYNES SETTLEMENT

Fair

Over: DOWDEN CREEK

VE 713 688, Vernon, LA

Built 1967 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

DOWDEN CREEK RD

Fair

Over: DOWDEN CREEK

VE 703 688, Vernon, LA

Built 1968 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

YELLOW BRICK ROAD

Fair

Over: COMRADE CREEK

VE 801 680, Vernon, LA

Built 1969 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

OAKIE FLAT ROAD

Fair

Over: TRIB OF COMRADE CREEK

V 803 670, Vernon, LA

Built 2000 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

ROCK QUARRY ROAD

Fair

Over: TIGER CREEK

VE 823 727, Vernon, LA

Built 1990 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

RIVERTON ROAD

Fair

Over: DRAINAGE TO ZOURIE BAYOU

NEAR WILLIAM ST, Vernon, LA

Built 1990 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300

PENDLETON DR

Fair

Over: ZOURIE BAYOU

NEAR RYAN, Vernon, LA

Built 1989 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300

BEN WEST RD

Fair

Over: UNKNOWN CREEK

Fort Polk, Vernon, LA

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

MILL CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: BIRDS CREEK

FORT POLK, Vernon, LA

Built 1987 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 200

MILL CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: BIRDS CREEK

FORT POLK, Vernon, LA

Built 1987 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 200

MAV LZ

Fair

Over: W FORK 6MI CREEK

FORT POLK, Vernon, LA

Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 40

SIXMILE CREEK RD

Fair

Over: TRIB TO W FORK 6 MI CRK

VE 981 379, Vernon, LA

Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300

SIXMILE CREEK RD

Fair

Over: TRIB TO W FORK 6 MI CRK

VE 965 374, Vernon, LA

Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300

MILL CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: BIRDS CREEK

VE 919 379, Vernon, LA

Built 1987 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300

DRAKES CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: OBANION BRANCH

VE 840 326, Vernon, LA

Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 320

DRAKES CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: TRIB TO DRAKES CREEK

VE 853 335, Vernon, LA

Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 350

DRAKES CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: TRIB TO DRAKES CREEK

VE 852 334, Vernon, LA

Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 320

COTTONWOOD RD

Fair

Over: POCOSIN CREEK

3.4 M. S. OF JIM CRYER RD, Vernon, LA

Built 1987 Load: 33.0 t

HARVEY CROSSING

Fair

Over: ANACOCO BAYOU RELIEF

3.45 MI. EAST OF LA 464, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 200

LAUREL HILL RD

Fair

Over: MILL CREEK

1.0 M NORTH OF LA 489, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 250

LA0028

Fair

Over: CYPRESS BAYOU

3.9 MI EAST OF LA 465, Vernon, LA

Built 1973 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 7,065

LA0008

Fair

Over: BAYOU-ANACOCO

3.1 MI EAST OF LA 464, Vernon, LA

Built 1977 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 4,071

LA0465

Fair

Over: CREEK

3.67 MI EAST OF LA 117, Vernon, LA

Built 1978 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 115

LA0465

Fair

Over: RELIEF

5.70 MI EAST OF LA 117, Vernon, LA

Built 1980 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 115

LA0465

Fair

Over: BUCK BRANCH

6.68 MI EAST OF LA 117, Vernon, LA

Built 1980 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 115

LA0028

Fair

Over: CALCASIEU RIVER

8.6 MI EAST OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 1975 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 6,307

LA0465

Fair

Over: SHINGLE MILL BRANCH

2.75 MI EAST OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1981 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 500

LA0465

Fair

Over: SHINGLE MILL CREEK

2.86 MI EAST OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1981 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 500

LA0465

Fair

Over: TWO MILE BRANCH

6.5 MI EAST OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1981 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 500

LA0010

Fair

Over: BUNDICK CREEK

1.2 MI EAST OF LA 467, Vernon, LA

Built 1985 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,934

US0171

Fair

Over: BAYOU ZOURIE

1.1 MI NORTH OF LA 10, Vernon, LA

Built 1978 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 6,952

HARVEY CROSSING

Fair

Over: ANACOCO BAYOU

3.53 MI. E. OF LA 464, Vernon, LA

Built 2001 Load: 43.4 t ADT: 100

US0171

Fair

Over: CASTOR CREEK RELIEF

5.1 MI NORTH OF LA 10, Vernon, LA

Built 1975 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 12,466

US0171

Fair

Over: CASTOR CREEK RELIEF

5.1 MI NORTH OF LA 10, Vernon, LA

Built 1975 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 6,952

US0171

Fair

Over: SALES BRANCH

.25 MI NORTH OF LA 1211, Vernon, LA

Built 1975 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 14,458

LA0111

Fair

Over: ANACOCO CREEK RELIEF

2.92 MI. EAST OF LA 392, Vernon, LA

Built 1966 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 937

LA0111

Fair

Over: ANACOCO CREEK

3.09 MI EAST OF LA 392, Vernon, LA

Built 1966 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 937

LA0392

Fair

Over: BAYOU TORO

2.8 MI WEST OF LA 111, Vernon, LA

Built 1965 Load: 46.3 t ADT: 688

LA0399

Fair

Over: BR. OF WHISKEY CHITTO CR

2.72 MI. SOUTH OF LA 10, Vernon, LA

Built 2001 Load: 47.3 t ADT: 938

HOLLYSPRINGS EXT

Fair

Over: WHISKEY CHITTO CREEK

FORT POLK, Vernon, LA

Built 2007 Load: 48.0 t ADT: 120
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.