County profile · official public datasets

Freeborn County, MN

142 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 50.7% rated Good, 46.5% Fair, 2.8% Poor.

142
Public bridges
50.7%
Good condition
2.8%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Freeborn County pairs a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.

Top 36%
lowest Poor share in state
2.8%
Poor-condition share
142
public highway bridges
1981
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.

Freeborn County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Freeborn County ranks #31 of 87 Minnesota counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 2.8%). Freeborn County, Minnesota contains 142 public highway bridges. Roughly 50.7% are rated “Good,” 46.5% “Fair,” and 2.8% “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

142

Public highway bridges in Freeborn County

Good condition

50.7%

72 of 142 rated 7-9

Fair condition

46.5%

66 of 142 rated 5-6

Poor condition

2.8%

4 of 142 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#31 of 87

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

Condition distribution

Share of 142 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
50.7% (72)
Fair
46.5% (66)
Poor
2.8% (4)

Freeborn County's Poor-condition bridges carry 3,493 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 2.8% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 873 crossings a day against 1,273 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 142 of 142 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

51.4% of Freeborn County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

73 of the 142 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 50.7% 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 89.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

MN 109 over I 90, built 1970, carries 3,126 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 4-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 3,493 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Freeborn County's bridges were built

142 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 47 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 33.1% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1981, 5 years older than the Minnesota average of 1986.

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

How Freeborn County compares with Minnesota's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Minnesota counties nearest Freeborn County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 2.8% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1981 against a peer-group mean of 1987 is 6 years older.

Showing the 5 closest of 86 Minnesota counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Freeborn County and the 5 Minnesota counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Carlton County 147 8.8%
Wabasha County 147 0%
Rice County 142 2.8%
Roseau County 142 2.8%
Freeborn County (this page) 142 2.8%
Renville County 141 9.9%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside MN (142 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside MN (1981 here).

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

All 142 Good 72 Fair 66 Poor 4

All bridges (142)

T 351

Fair

Over: COBB CREEK

1.0 MI N OF JCT CSAH 33, Freeborn, MN

Built 1935 Load: 34.4 t ADT: 20

I 35

Fair

Over: GOOSE CREEK

2.8 MI N OF IOWA ST LINE, Freeborn, MN

Built 1972 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 10,064

I 90

Fair

Over: IM RAIL; CSAH 46

6.6 MI E OF JCT TH 35, Freeborn, MN

Built 1967 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 6,350

T 350

Fair

Over: CD #43

0.8 MI N OF JCT CSAH 33, Freeborn, MN

Built 1977 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 38

CSAH 30

Fair

Over: I 90

7.9 MI E OF JCT TH 35, Freeborn, MN

Built 1961 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 470

I 90

Fair

Over: IM RAIL; CSAH 46

6.6 MI E OF JCT TH 35, Freeborn, MN

Built 1967 Load: 36.1 t ADT: 6,000

I 90

Fair

Over: IM RAIL

2.7 MI E OF JCT TH 109, Freeborn, MN

Built 1970 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 4,355

I 90

Fair

Over: IM RAIL

2.7 MI E OF JCT TH 109, Freeborn, MN

Built 1970 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 4,355

CSAH 14

Fair

Over: BANCROFT CREEK (CD #65)

0.1 MI W OF JCT CSAH 22, Freeborn, MN

Built 1972 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 295

CSAH 9

Fair

Over: CO #79

0.9 MI W OF JCT CSAH 14, Freeborn, MN

Built 1973 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 260

MN 13

Fair

Over: IM RAIL

0.7 MI W OF JCT TH 65, Freeborn, MN

Built 1983 Load: 39.5 t ADT: 7,300

CR 103

Fair

Over: DEER CREEK

1.1 MI E OF JCT CSAH 34, Freeborn, MN

Built 1958 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 80

CSAH 34

Fair

Over: I 90

3.7 MI W OF JCT TH 105, Freeborn, MN

Built 1961 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 500

CSAH 34

Fair

Over: TURTLE CREEK (JD #24)

0.1 MI S OF JCT CSAH 25, Freeborn, MN

Built 1977 Load: 41.2 t ADT: 270

CSAH 19

Fair

Over: I 35

1.0 MI N OF JCT TH 65, Freeborn, MN

Built 1970 Load: 44.5 t ADT: 820

CR 101

Fair

Over: DRAINAGE INTO FOUNTAIN L

0.1 MI NE OF JCT TH 13, Freeborn, MN

Built 1952 Load: 64.5 t ADT: 1,100

CSAH 23

Good

Over: I 35

0.8 MI N OF JCT TH 90, Freeborn, MN

Built 1968 Load: 20.6 t ADT: 250

CSAH 20

Good

Over: I 90

3.5 MI W OF JCT TH 35, Freeborn, MN

Built 1968 Load: 21.6 t ADT: 800

CSAH 35

Good

Over: DITCH

0.5 MI NE OF JCT TH 35, Freeborn, MN

Built 1971 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 960

T 250

Good

Over: CO DITCH # 46

0.8 MI W OF JCT CSAH 20, Freeborn, MN

Built 1957 Load: 22.9 t ADT: 40

CSAH 13

Good

Over: SHELL ROCK RIVER

0.1 MI E OF JCT CSAH 5, Freeborn, MN

Built 1980 Load: 24.1 t ADT: 930

CSAH 13

Good

Over: I 35

5.3 MI N OF IOWA ST LINE, Freeborn, MN

Built 1970 Load: 26.5 t ADT: 960

I 90

Good

Over: BANCROFT CREEK

2.6 MI W OF JCT TH 35, Freeborn, MN

Built 1968 Load: 29.4 t ADT: 12,600

SERVICE RD

Good

Over: STREAM

0.7 MI S OF JCT TH 90, Freeborn, MN

Built 1969 Load: 29.4 t ADT: 10

US 65

Good

Over: SHELL ROCK RIVER

4.0 MI N OF S STATE LINE, Freeborn, MN

Built 1979 Load: 30.4 t ADT: 2,154

I 90

Good

Over: CSAH 22

1.9 MI W OF JCT TH 35, Freeborn, MN

Built 1968 Load: 32.2 t ADT: 6,600

I 90

Good

Over: CSAH 22

1.9 MI W OF JCT TH 35, Freeborn, MN

Built 1968 Load: 32.2 t ADT: 6,000

CSAH 5

Good

Over: GOOSE CREEK (CD #55)

0.5 MI E OF JCT CSAH 18, Freeborn, MN

Built 1990 Load: 32.3 t ADT: 230

CSAH 1

Good

Over: CD #71

0.7 MI W OF JCT CSAH 32, Freeborn, MN

Built 2018 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 550

CR 107

Good

Over: COUNTY DITCH #71

0.2 MI E OF JCT CSAH 30, Freeborn, MN

Built 2018 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 65

T 54

Good

Over: WOODBURY CREEK

0.3 MI E OF JCT CSAH 34, Freeborn, MN

Built 2014 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 49

T 58

Good

Over: E FK BLUE EARTH RIVER

0.3 MI W OF JCT CR 61, Freeborn, MN

Built 2014 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 49

M 501

Good

Over: BANCROFT CREEK

0.8 MI E OF JCT CSAH 20, Freeborn, MN

Built 2021 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 49

T 313

Good

Over: GOOSE CREEK (CD #55)

0.8 MI S OF JCT CSAH 5, Freeborn, MN

Built 1978 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 15

CSAH 34

Good

Over: MUD LAKE CREEK

0.2 MI N OF JCT CSAH 13, Freeborn, MN

Built 2012 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 500

CR 82

Good

Over: CO DITCH # 16

0.6 MI S OF JCT CSAH 13, Freeborn, MN

Built 1978 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 35

CSAH 1

Good

Over: SHELL ROCK RIVER

0.9 MI W OF JCT TH 65, Freeborn, MN

Built 1972 Load: 34.6 t ADT: 465

CR 84

Good

Over: SHELL ROCK RIVER

0.3 MI E OF JCT CR 81, Freeborn, MN

Built 1978 Load: 34.9 t ADT: 620

T 44

Good

Over: SHELL ROCK RIVER

0.7 MI NW OF JCT CSAH 26, Freeborn, MN

Built 1978 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 130

T 330

Good

Over: E FK BLUE EARTH RIVER

0.1 MI N JCT CSAH 17, Freeborn, MN

Built 2007 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 58

CSAH 28

Good

Over: TURTLE CREEK

0.4 MI N OF JCT TH 251, Freeborn, MN

Built 2008 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 310

CSAH 13

Good

Over: E BR SHELL ROCK RIVER

0.5 MI W OF JCT CSAH 26, Freeborn, MN

Built 1995 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 930

CR 68

Good

Over: Big Cobb River

1.2 mi E of County Line, Freeborn, MN

Built 2002 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 30

CSAH 18

Good

Over: CO DITCH # 55

0.6 MI N OF JCT CSAH 5, Freeborn, MN

Built 2004 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 310

T 65

Good

Over: W BR ORCHARD CREEK

0.8 MI E OF JCT CSAH 34, Freeborn, MN

Built 2008 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 49

T 37

Good

Over: MUD LAKE CREEK

0.6 MI N OF JCT CSAH 13, Freeborn, MN

Built 2014 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 49

CSAH 26

Good

Over: PETER LUND CREEK

1.0 MI N OF JCT CSAH 19, Freeborn, MN

Built 1978 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 1,200

CSAH 6

Good

Over: COBB CREEK

0.8 MI N OF JCT CSAH 33, Freeborn, MN

Built 1978 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 150

T 356

Good

Over: JD #25

0.6 MI S OF JCT CSAH 49, Freeborn, MN

Built 1947 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 15

T 35

Good

Over: WOODBURY CREEK

1.7 MI E OF JCT CSAH 34, Freeborn, MN

Built 1939 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 25

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →
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.