County profile · official public datasets

Smith County, MS

175 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 76.6% rated Good, 19.4% Fair, 4% Poor.

175
Public bridges
76.6%
Good condition
4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Smith County posts a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

Top 38%
lowest Poor share in state
4%
Poor-condition share
175
public highway bridges
1990
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.

Smith County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Smith County ranks #31 of 82 Mississippi counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4%). Smith County, Mississippi contains 175 public highway bridges. Roughly 76.6% are rated “Good,” 19.4% “Fair,” and 4% “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

175

Public highway bridges in Smith County

Good condition

76.6%

134 of 175 rated 7-9

Fair condition

19.4%

34 of 175 rated 5-6

Poor condition

4%

7 of 175 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#31 of 82

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

Condition distribution

Share of 175 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
76.6% (134)
Fair
19.4% (34)
Poor
4% (7)

Smith County's Poor-condition bridges carry 460 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.4% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 66 crossings a day against 884 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 175 of 175 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

26.3% of Smith County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

46 of the 175 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 76.6% 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 30.4% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SMITH CO. 529 over BCH OF W TALLAHALA CREEK, built 1958, carries 140 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 7-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 460 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Smith County's bridges were built

175 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 47 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 26.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1990) matches the Mississippi average (1986).

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

How Smith County compares with Mississippi's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Mississippi counties nearest Smith County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1990 against a peer-group mean of 1986 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 81 Mississippi counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Smith County and the 5 Mississippi counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Webster County 178 6.7%
Winston County 176 1.7%
Warren County 175 4.6%
Smith County (this page) 175 4%
Greene County 171 1.8%
Montgomery County 170 2.9%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside MS (175 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside MS (1990 here).

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

All 175 Good 134 Fair 34 Poor 7

Good-condition bridges (134)

SMITH CO. 563

Good

Over: RELIEF FOR STRONG RIVER

SEC 24 T 4N R 6E B, Smith, MS

Built 1996 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 160

SMITH CO. 141

Good

Over: BCH OF RASPBERRY CREEK

SEC 8 T 4N R 6E B, Smith, MS

Built 1969 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 180

SMITH CO. 583

Good

Over: BCH OF LEAF RIVER

SEC 19 T 4N R 9E, Smith, MS

Built 1995 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 20

SMITH CO. 20A

Good

Over: BCH OF SULLIVANS CREEK

SEC 31 T10N R15W, Smith, MS

Built 1995 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 40

CR 54 (W PECAN

Good

Over: CLEAR CREEK

SEC 1 T10N R16W, Smith, MS

Built 1994 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 60

SMITH CO. 53

Good

Over: MCLAUREN CREEK

SEC 19 T10N R16W, Smith, MS

Built 1995 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 50

SR 28

Good

Over: OAKAHAY CREEK

0.4 MI E SR 35, Smith, MS

Built 1973 Load: 35.7 t ADT: 5,100

SR 541

Good

Over: JUMP CREEK

2.4 MI N SR 18, Smith, MS

Built 2000 Load: 35.7 t ADT: 190

SMITH CO. 106

Good

Over: HATCHAPALOO CREEK

SEC 17 T 1N R 7E B, Smith, MS

Built 2004 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 100

SMITH CO. 581

Good

Over: BOWLEN CREEK

SEC 23 T 3N R 8E B, Smith, MS

Built 1994 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 160

SMITH CO. 504

Good

Over: LEAF RIVER

SEC 36 T 4N R 8E B, Smith, MS

Built 2000 Load: 35.9 t ADT: 330

SMITH CO. 131

Good

Over: JUMP CREEK

SEC 15 T 3N R 6E B, Smith, MS

Built 2018 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 230

SMITH CO. 32 B

Good

Over: LITTLE OAKOHAY CREEK

SEC 6 T 4N R 8E, Smith, MS

Built 2011 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 250

SMITH CO. 32-B

Good

Over: OAKOHAY CREEK

SEC 13 T 4N R 7E, Smith, MS

Built 2017 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 120

SR 18

Good

Over: WHITE OAK CREEK

0.8 MI W SR 541, Smith, MS

Built 1972 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 2,600

SR 18

Good

Over: OAKAHAY CREEK

3.4 MI W SR 35, Smith, MS

Built 1972 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 2,300

SR 18

Good

Over: ICHUSA CREEK

0.2 MI E SR 501, Smith, MS

Built 1970 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 3,300

SR 18

Good

Over: TALLAHALLA RELIEF

2.7 MI E SR 501, Smith, MS

Built 1970 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 2,800

SR 18

Good

Over: TALLAHALLA CREEK

3.0 MI E SR 501, Smith, MS

Built 1970 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 2,800

SR 28

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

0.6 MI E SR 35, Smith, MS

Built 1973 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 5,100

SR 28

Good

Over: BOG BRANCH

1.0 MI E SR 35, Smith, MS

Built 1973 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 5,100

SMITH CO. 14

Good

Over: LYON CREEK

SEC 24 T10N R15W B, Smith, MS

Built 2010 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 550

SMITH CO. 516

Good

Over: BCH OF OAKOHAY CREEK

SEC 8 T 2N R 7E B, Smith, MS

Built 1990 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 120

SR 13

Good

Over: RASPBERRY CREEK RELIEF

1.2 MI N SR 541, Smith, MS

Built 1987 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 1,500

SMITH CO. 8

Good

Over: CLEAR CREEK

SEC 20 T10N R13E B, Smith, MS

Built 2003 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 430

SMITH CO. 19

Good

Over: LYON CREEK

SEC 29 T10N R14W B, Smith, MS

Built 1987 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 200

SMITH CO. 20

Good

Over: SULLIVAN HOLLOW CREEK

SEC 28 T10N R15W B, Smith, MS

Built 2005 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 120

SMITH CO. 581

Good

Over: BOWLEN CREEK

SEC 10 T 3N R 8E B, Smith, MS

Built 2011 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 160

SR 540

Good

Over: RELIEF

2.9 MI W SR 35, Smith, MS

Built 1968 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 1,300

SMITH CO. 504-C

Good

Over: TISHKILL CREEK

SEC 26 T 4N R 8E, Smith, MS

Built 2000 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 30

OAK STREET

Good

Over: BCH OF OAKOHAY CREEK

SEC 1 T10N R16W B, Smith, MS

Built 2001 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 700

SMITH CO. 106

Good

Over: OAKOHAY CREEK

SEC 9 T 1N R 7E B, Smith, MS

Built 1999 Load: 38.5 t ADT: 100

SMITH CO. 504

Good

Over: LEAF RIVER RELIEF

SEC 36 T 4N R 8E B, Smith, MS

Built 2000 Load: 38.5 t ADT: 330

SMITH CO. RD 42

Good

Over: BRANCH

SEC 19 T10N R16W, Smith, MS

Built 1999 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 110

SR 481

Good

Over: BEECH BRANCH

3.6 MI S SCOTT CL, Smith, MS

Built 1994 Load: 39.5 t ADT: 430

SMITH CO. 106

Good

Over: RELIEF HATCHAPALOO

SEC 17 T 1N R 7E B, Smith, MS

Built 2004 Load: 39.5 t ADT: 100

SMITH CO. 119

Good

Over: BIG SHONGELO CREEK

SEC 28 T 3N R 8E B, Smith, MS

Built 1995 Load: 39.5 t ADT: 60

SMITH CO. 119

Good

Over: LITTLE SHONGELO CREEK

SEC 29 T 3N R 8E B, Smith, MS

Built 1995 Load: 39.5 t ADT: 100

SMITH CO. 8

Good

Over: BCH OF CLEAR CREEK

SEC 19 T10N R13W B, Smith, MS

Built 2003 Load: 39.5 t ADT: 430

SR 28

Good

Over: LEAF RIVER

1.4 MI E SR 37, Smith, MS

Built 1973 Load: 39.8 t ADT: 6,000

SMITH CO. 581

Good

Over: LITTLE CREEK

SEC 26 T 3N R 8E B, Smith, MS

Built 1954 Load: 39.8 t ADT: 200

SR 28

Good

Over: UNNAMED STREAM

1.5 MI W SR 35, Smith, MS

Built 1973 Load: 40.1 t ADT: 3,300

SR 18

Good

Over: COON CREEK

9.0 MI W SR 35, Smith, MS

Built 1972 Load: 40.3 t ADT: 2,300

SMITH CO.578

Good

Over: JUMP CREEK

SEC 11 T 3N R 6E, Smith, MS

Built 2011 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 40

SMITH CO. 539

Good

Over: TRIB OF OAKOHAY CRK

SEC 33 T 3N R 7E B, Smith, MS

Built 1978 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 300

SMITH CO. 503

Good

Over: CLEAR CREEK TRIB

SEC 25 T 2N R 6E B, Smith, MS

Built 1999 Load: 41.4 t ADT: 400

SMITH CO. 93

Good

Over: BEAVERDAM CREEK

SEC 35 T 2N R 8E B, Smith, MS

Built 1995 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 120

SMITH CO. 94

Good

Over: BRANCH OF FISHER CREEK

SEC 21 T 1N R 8E, Smith, MS

Built 2011 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 40

SMITH CO 18-3

Good

Over: NELSE BRANCH

SEC 15 T 2N R 8E, Smith, MS

Built 2000 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 50

SMITH CO. 120

Good

Over: BOWLEN CREEK

SEC 23 T 3N R 8E, Smith, MS

Built 1998 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 70

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

Related

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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.