Total bridges
33
Public highway bridges in Grand Traverse County
County profile · official public datasets
Grand Traverse County, MI
33 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 51.5% rated Good, 42.4% Fair, 6.1% Poor.
- 33
- Public bridges
- 51.5%
- Good condition
- 6.1%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Grand Traverse County pairs a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.
- Top 19%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 6.1%
- Poor-condition share
- 33
- public highway bridges
- 1971
- 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.
Grand Traverse County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Grand Traverse County ranks #16 of 83 Michigan counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 6.1%). Grand Traverse County, Michigan contains 33 public highway bridges. Roughly 51.5% are rated “Good,” 42.4% “Fair,” and 6.1% “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.
Good condition
51.5%
17 of 33 rated 7-9
Fair condition
42.4%
14 of 33 rated 5-6
Poor condition
6.1%
2 of 33 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#16 of 83
Among Michigan counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 33 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 51.5% (17)
Fair 42.4% (14)
Poor 6.1% (2)
Grand Traverse County's Poor-condition bridges carry 20,429 vehicle crossings a day
That is 7.3% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 6.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 10,215 crossings a day against 8,194 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 33 of 33 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
63.6% of Grand Traverse County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
21 of the 33 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 51.5% 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 96.1% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
BEITNER ROAD over BOARDMAN RIVER, built 1980, carries 19,628 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 2-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 20,429 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Grand Traverse County's bridges were built
33 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s
1920–1929
3 bridges
- 1930s 2
1930–1939
2 bridges
- 1940s 2
1940–1949
2 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
6 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
5 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
5 bridges
- 1980s 1
1980–1989
1 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
5 bridges
- 2010s 2
2010–2019
2 bridges
- 2020s 2
2020–2029
2 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1950s, when 6 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 18.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 65 to 74 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1971, 5 years older than the Michigan average of 1976.
How Grand Traverse County compares with Michigan's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Michigan counties nearest Grand Traverse County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 6.1% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1971 against a peer-group mean of 1971 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 82 Michigan counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickinson County | 37 | 43.2% | 40.5% | 16.2% | 1971 |
| Manistee County | 35 | 40% | 45.7% | 14.3% | 1979 |
| Grand Traverse County (this page) | 33 | 51.5% | 42.4% | 6.1% | 1971 |
| Alpena County | 32 | 28.1% | 65.6% | 6.3% | 1970 |
| Ogemaw County | 31 | 22.6% | 74.2% | 3.2% | 1969 |
| Lake County | 30 | 43.3% | 40% | 16.7% | 1967 |
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 Grand Traverse 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 Grand Traverse County, both outside Michigan so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside MI (33 bridges here).
- Lee County, GA · 33 bridges
- Greeley County, KS · 33 bridges
- Calvert County, MD · 33 bridges
- Daniels County, MT · 33 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside MI (1971 here).
- Baltimore County, MD · avg 1971 · 783 bridges
- Washington County, PA · avg 1971 · 655 bridges
- Linn County, OR · avg 1971 · 566 bridges
- Monmouth County, NJ · avg 1971 · 505 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
All bridges (33)
BUSINESS PARK DRV
FairOver: MITCHELL CREEK
0.5 MI E OF TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2001 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 988
S AIRPORT ROAD
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
0.8 MI S OF TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1961 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 18,938
S AIRPORT ROAD
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
0.8 MI S OF TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1977 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 21,860
PARK STREET
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
IN TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1956 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 3,824
NORTH UNION STREET
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
IN TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1955 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 4,803
SOUTH CASS STREET
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
IN TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1930 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 5,020
M-37
FairOver: MDOT RR CORRIDOR
0.5 MI S OF US-31, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1965 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 14,306
US-31
FairOver: ACME CREEK
IN ACME, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1928 Load: 43.1 t ADT: 12,363
SCHARMEN RD
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
1 MI N & 0.8 M E MAYFIELD, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1958 Load: 47.6 t ADT: 392
US-31
FairOver: CEDAR HEDGE CREEK
1.6 MI E OF BENZIE COL, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1927 Load: 48.9 t ADT: 10,386
US-31
FairOver: TONAWANDA CREEK
0.9 MI E OF M-137, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1927 Load: 48.9 t ADT: 15,029
BROWN BRIDGE ROAD
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
7MI S 0.5W OF WILLIAMSBUR, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1977 Load: 72.6 t ADT: 165
UNION STREET-SOUTH
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
IN TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1931 Load: 77.1 t ADT: 6,545
SUPPLY ROAD
FairOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
7 M N & 2 M W O FIFE LAKE, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1954 Load: 97.2 t ADT: 5,163
HAMMOND ROAD
GoodOver: GLC RR
0.9 MI W OF GARFIELD RD, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2009 Load: 19.6 t ADT: 15,578
KEYSTONE ROAD N
GoodOver: GLC RR
0.1 MI N OF HAMMOND ROAD, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2009 Load: 19.6 t ADT: 5,348
BROOMHEAD ROAD
GoodOver: S BR BOARDMAN RIVER
7 MILES S OF WILLIAMSBURG, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1954 Load: 26.4 t ADT: 111
THREE MILE ROAD
GoodOver: MITCHELL CREEK
.07 MI S OF US-31, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2006 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 24,586
THREE MILE ROAD
GoodOver: MITCHELL CREEK
1.07 MI S OF US-31, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2005 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 9,668
CASS ROAD
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
0.26 MI W OF KEYSTONE RD, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2016 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 7,384
BETSIE RIVER ROAD
GoodOver: BETSIE RIVER
1.3 M NW OF KARLIN, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1973 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 532
US-31
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
IN TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1951 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 26,650
BROOMHEAD ROAD
GoodOver: N BR BOARDMAN RIVER
SECT 35 WHITEWATER TWP, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2022 Load: 46.3 t ADT: 99
BROWN BRIDGE ROAD
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
1.5 M N & 4 M E MAYFIELD, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1949 Load: 47.6 t ADT: 117
RIVER ROAD
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
4.3M N & 0.5M W OF KINGSL, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1962 Load: 60.3 t ADT: 2,586
RIVER ROAD
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
4.2M N & 0.4M W OF KINGSL, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1962 Load: 65.4 t ADT: 2,586
E DUCK LAKE RD
GoodOver: MASON CREEK
435 S OF MASON RD, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2019 Load: 65.4 t ADT: 928
NORTH CASS STREET
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
IN TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1960 Load: 69.0 t ADT: 3,533
CO RD 611
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
3.7M N &.8M E OF KINGSLEY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1947 Load: 70.6 t ADT: 10,294
FRONT STREET
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
IN TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 2022 Load: 79.4 t ADT: 13,681
EIGHTH STREET
GoodOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
IN TRAVERSE CITY, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1974 Load: 86.5 t ADT: 15,609
DIAMOND PARK ROAD
PoorOver: LITTLE BETSIE RIVER
0.6 MI W OF M137, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1970 Load: 12.6 t ADT: 801
BEITNER ROAD
PoorOver: BOARDMAN RIVER
1.3M E OF M37 - US31 INTR, Grand Traverse, MI
Built 1980 Load: 31.4 t ADT: 19,628
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.