Total bridges
341
Public highway bridges in Vernon County
County profile · official public datasets
341 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 57.8% rated Good, 34.6% Fair, 7.6% Poor.
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.
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, 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
Share of 341 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
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.
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.
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.
341 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
1930–1939
2 bridges
1940–1949
11 bridges
1950–1959
8 bridges
1960–1969
21 bridges
1970–1979
63 bridges
1980–1989
55 bridges
1990–1999
70 bridges
2000–2009
60 bridges
2010–2019
45 bridges
2020–2029
6 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.
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.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Tammany County | 360 | 33.3% | 60.6% | 6.1% | 1976 |
| Vernon County (this page) | 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 | 313 | 46% | 38.7% | 15.3% | 1983 |
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.
Two NBI-derived peer sets for Vernon County, both outside Louisiana so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Nearest county inventories outside LA (341 bridges here).
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.
Over: ODOM CREEK
VE 812 723, Vernon, LA
Over: CANEY CREEK
.69 MILES SOUTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA
Over: VERNON LAKE TRIB.
0.54 M. S. OF JCT LA 111, Vernon, LA
Over: STAGESTAND CR
FORT POLK, Vernon, LA
Over: BR. OF WHISKEY CHITTO CR
3.1 MI. SOUTH OF LA 10, Vernon, LA
Over: DRAIN
.29 MI E OF W JCT LA 392, Vernon, LA
Over: UNNAMED BRANCH
6.61 MI EAST JCT US 171, Vernon, LA
Over: BR. OF WHISKEY CHITTO CR
2.22 MI. SOUTH OF LA 10, Vernon, LA
Over: CANEY BRANCH
5.19 MI SO OF JCT LA 10, Vernon, LA
Over: UNNAMED CREEK
2.66 MI S OF JCT LA 10, Vernon, LA
Over: BIG BRANCH
1.02 M. S. OF END LA 1211, Vernon, LA
Over: CASTOR BAYOU TRIBUTARY
1.38 M. W. OF LA 1211, Vernon, LA
Over: FLACTOR CREEK TRIB.
0.47 M. N. OF LA 121 NEAR, Vernon, LA
Over: BR. OF W. ANACOCO CR.
APP. 0.5 M W OF RIVERS RD, Vernon, LA
Over: W FORK 6MI CREEK
FORT POLK, Vernon, LA
Over: DRAINAGE STAGESTAND CR
PEASON RIDGE TRAIN AREA, Vernon, LA
Over: TIGER CREEK
VE 826 720, Vernon, LA
Over: HOGPEN BRANCH
VE 949 320, Vernon, LA
Over: DRAIN
1.6 MI. EAST OF LA 392, Vernon, LA
Over: DOWDEN CREEK
1.4 MILES NORTH OF LA 111, Vernon, LA
Over: DOWDEN CREEK RELIEF
1.3 MILES NORTH OF LA 111, Vernon, LA
Over: COMRADE CREEK
6.09 MI. E OF E JCT. LA 4, Vernon, LA
Over: SIXMILE CREEK
0.5 M. W. OF LA 113, Vernon, LA
Over: BLUE BRANCH
0.2 M. E. OF LA 463, Vernon, LA
Over: ANACOCO CREEK
APP. 0.5 M W OF RIVERS RD, Vernon, LA
Over: BEESONS CREEK
3.11 M. S. OF JCT LA 117, Vernon, LA
Over: BIG BRANCH
1.0 M. S. OF END LA 1211, Vernon, LA
Over: BIG BRANCH
0.9 M. N. OF LA 8 NEAR SL, Vernon, LA
Over: CANEY CREEK
10.09 MI WEST OF US 171, Vernon, LA
Over: ODOM CREEK
VE 814 715, Vernon, LA
Over: PARISH RD #4 ZOURIE BAYO
COOPER ROAD, Vernon, LA
Over: LIBERTY CREEK
1.0M SE OF LA 468, Vernon, LA
Over: CREEK
0.46 MI N.W. JCT. US 171, Vernon, LA
Over: SIX MILE CREEK
0.7 M. SW OF LA 377, Vernon, LA
Over: CASTOR BAYOU
3.97 M. W. OF US 171, Vernon, LA
Over: WEST FORK CREEK
3 MI. WEST OF JCT. LA 121, Vernon, LA
Over: MENACE CREEK
0.59 M. N. OF LA 8 NEAR S, Vernon, LA
Over: BEE BRANCH
1.07 MI. E OF E INT. LA 4, Vernon, LA
Over: BIG BRANCH CREEK
2.61 MILES EAST OF LA 121, Vernon, LA
Over: FLAT BRANCH CREEK
3.3 MILES NORTH OF LA 121, Vernon, LA
Over: YELLOW BRANCH
0.56 MI E OF LA 465, Vernon, LA
Over: CREEK
2.3 MILES S.W. OF WEST JC, Vernon, LA
Over: CREEK
1.2 MI E OF LA 465, Vernon, LA
Over: CREEK
.55 MI SOUTH OF LA 3226, Vernon, LA
Over: CREEK
8.2 MI EAST OF LA 464, Vernon, LA
Over: POLLARD BRANCH
1.22 MI. WEST OF LA 377, Vernon, LA
Over: CREEK
2.46 MI. EAST OF LA 377, Vernon, LA
Over: CREEK
3.13 MI. NORTH OF LA 111, Vernon, LA
Over: BELL BRANCH
4.54 MI. NORTH OF LA 111, Vernon, LA
Over: BAYGALL BRANCH
0.02 MI. SOUTH OF LA 465, Vernon, 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.