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)

LA0010

Good

Over: CREEK

3.73 MI. EAST OF LA 377, Vernon, LA

Built 2006 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 2,773

LA0010

Good

Over: TEN MILE CREEK RELIEF

4.02 MI. EAST OF LA 377, Vernon, LA

Built 2006 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 2,773

LA0008

Good

Over: DEVILS CREEK

7.59 MI E JCT LA 465&LA8, Vernon, LA

Built 2003 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 5,978

LA0008

Good

Over: DEVILS CREEK

7.65 MI E JCT LA 465& LA8, Vernon, LA

Built 2003 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 5,978

LA0465

Good

Over: BLACKJACK BRANCH

1.54 M E OF JCT LA 117, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 115

LA0465

Good

Over: COMRADE CREEK RELIEF

7.44 M. E. OF JCT LA 117, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 171

LA0465

Good

Over: COMRADE CREEK

7.55 M. E. OF JCT LA 117, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 171

LA0465

Good

Over: COMRADE CREEK RELIEF

7.75 M. E. OF JCT. LA 117, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 171

LA0489

Good

Over: CALCASIEU RIVER

4.89 MI. N. OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 639

LA0489

Good

Over: CALCASIEU RIVER RELIEF

5.18 M N OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 639

LA0008

Good

Over: DRAIN

1.25 MILES NE OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 2015 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 931

LA0008

Good

Over: CALCASIEU RELIEF CREEK

1.52 MILES NE OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 2015 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 931

LA0008

Good

Over: CALCASIEU RIVER

1.78 MILES NE OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 2015 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 931

LA0008

Good

Over: MIMS CREEK

3.57 MILES NE OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 2015 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 931

LA0008

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

4.37 MILES NE OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 2015 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 931

LA0008

Good

Over: COWPEN GULLY

2.2 MILES WEST OF LA 465, Vernon, LA

Built 2015 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 931

LA0008

Good

Over: CANEY BRANCH

2.2 MI S OF LA 465, Vernon, LA

Built 2016 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 931

LA0028

Good

Over: CALCASIEU RIVER

8.6 MI EAST OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 2011 Load: 39.5 t ADT: 6,952

US0171

Good

Over: VERNON LAKE

2.09 MI. SOUTH OF LA 111, Vernon, LA

Built 1967 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 6,952

LA0467

Good

Over: BAYOU CASTOR N BRANCH

1.04 MI. SOUTH OF US 171, Vernon, LA

Built 1989 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 4,743

LA0111

Good

Over: DRY BRANCH CREEK

11.24M SOUTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,480

LA0111

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

8.71M SOUTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,480

LA0111

Good

Over: MOORE BRANCH

8.28M SOUTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,480

LA0111

Good

Over: DAMREL CREEK

7.45M SOUTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,480

LA0111

Good

Over: RED BANK CREEK

5.17M SOUTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,480

LA0111

Good

Over: CLEAR CREEK

1.13M SOUTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1992 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,480

LA0111

Good

Over: PEARL CREEK

.4 MI NORTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1982 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 426

LA0111

Good

Over: YELLOW BRANCH

2.24 MILES NORTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1982 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 426

LA0111

Good

Over: JONES CREEK

3.58 MILES NORTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1982 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 426

LA0111

Good

Over: SANDY CREEK

5.4 MI NORTH OF LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1982 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 426

LA0392

Good

Over: LITTLE SANDY BRANCH

3.18 M N JCT LA 111, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 498

LA0392

Good

Over: ELDER BRANCH

4.47 M. N. OF JCT. LA 111, Vernon, LA

Built 1998 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 485

LA0464

Good

Over: BUCK CREEK

1.17M SOUTH OF JCT LA 8, Vernon, LA

Built 1993 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 856

LA0489

Good

Over: BILLY CREEK

2.2 MI. N. OF LA 121, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 639

LA0113

Good

Over: SOAPSTONE CREEK

3.62M. S. OF JCT LA 10, Vernon, LA

Built 2000 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 709

LA0113

Good

Over: SIX MILE CREEK

1.22 M S OF JCT LA 10, Vernon, LA

Built 1999 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 709

LA3226

Good

Over: CYPRESS CREEK TRIBUTARY

3.79 MI WEST OF US 171, Vernon, LA

Built 1987 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,816

LA0008

Good

Over: CREEK

3.0 MI. E OF E INT. LA 46, Vernon, LA

Built 2012 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 5,978

LA0008

Good

Over: MENACE CREEK

0.3 MI. E OF E INT. LA 46, Vernon, LA

Built 2012 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 5,978

LA0008

Good

Over: JURDON-CREEK

1.2 MI EAST OF LA 464, Vernon, LA

Built 1977 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 2,687

LA0010

Good

Over: HOGPEN BRANCH

.2 MI EAST OF LA 467, Vernon, LA

Built 1985 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 1,934

Sub Regional Parkw

Good

Over: Drainage Creek

0.2 Mi E of La 467, Vernon, LA

Built 2021 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 200

US0171

Good

Over: FLAT CREEK

.1 MI SOUTH OF LA 3226, Vernon, LA

Built 1981 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 14,420

US0171

Good

Over: FLAT CREEK

.1 MI SOUTH OF LA 3226, Vernon, LA

Built 1979 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 14,458

US0171

Good

Over: PRAIRIE CREEK

1.59 M. N. OF N. JCT. LA, Vernon, LA

Built 1986 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 9,417

US0171

Good

Over: PRAIRIE CREEK SOUTH RDWY

1.59 M. N. OF N. JCT. LA, Vernon, LA

Built 1986 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 6,952

LA0111

Good

Over: ANACOCO CREEK

1.75 MI E. JCT. US 171, Vernon, LA

Built 1997 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 937

LA0111

Good

Over: UNNAMED CREEK

4.88 MI. E. JCT. US 171, Vernon, LA

Built 1997 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 937

LA0111

Good

Over: PRAIRIE CREEK

5.79 MI E. JCT. US 171, Vernon, LA

Built 1997 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 937

LA0111

Good

Over: PRAIRIE CREEK

5.86 MI. E. JCT. US 171, Vernon, LA

Built 1997 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 937
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.