County profile · official public datasets

Sunflower County, MS

169 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 52.7% rated Good, 21.9% Fair, 25.4% Poor.

169
Public bridges
52.7%
Good condition
25.4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

82nd
of 82 on Poor share
25.4%
Poor-condition share
169
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.

Sunflower County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Sunflower County ranks #82 of 82 Mississippi counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 25.4%). Sunflower County, Mississippi contains 169 public highway bridges. Roughly 52.7% are rated “Good,” 21.9% “Fair,” and 25.4% “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

169

Public highway bridges in Sunflower County

Good condition

52.7%

89 of 169 rated 7-9

Fair condition

21.9%

37 of 169 rated 5-6

Poor condition

25.4%

43 of 169 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#82 of 82

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

Condition distribution

Share of 169 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
52.7% (89)
Fair
21.9% (37)
Poor
25.4% (43)

Sunflower County's Poor-condition bridges carry 13,480 vehicle crossings a day

That is 10.9% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 25% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 321 crossings a day against 544 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 168 of 169 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

34.9% of Sunflower County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

59 of the 169 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 52.7% 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 29.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 82 over SUNFLOWER RIVER, built 1933, carries 3,950 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 43-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 13,480 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Sunflower County's bridges were built

169 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 53 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 31.4% 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 Mississippi average of 1986.

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

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

The 5 Mississippi counties nearest Sunflower County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 25.4% Poor share is the 6th-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 81 Mississippi counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Sunflower County and the 5 Mississippi counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Greene County 171 1.8%
Montgomery County 170 2.9%
Sunflower County (this page) 169 25.4%
Pontotoc County 166 3.6%
Choctaw County 164 8.5%
Covington County 164 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 Sunflower 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 Sunflower County, both outside Mississippi so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside MS (169 bridges here).

Similar average build year

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

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

All 169 Good 89 Fair 37 Poor 43

Good-condition bridges (89)

ALLENDALE-TINDALL

Good

Over: DITCH NO 23

SEC 20 T18N R 5W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 2022 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 40

US 49W

Good

Over: DITCH

2.0 MI N SR 442 EAST, Sunflower, MS

Built 1992 Load: 34.6 t ADT: 4,000

BALTZER ROME ROAD

Good

Over: BLACK BAYOU

SEC 2 T24N R 4W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 2010 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 30

US 49W

Good

Over: CANAL

1.2 MI N SR 442 EAST, Sunflower, MS

Built 1992 Load: 34.9 t ADT: 3,600

COMPRESS ROAD

Good

Over: MOUND BAYOU

SEC 3 T17N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1999 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 400

FORD ROAD

Good

Over: BEAVER DAM BAYOU

SEC 30 T19N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1988 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 260

MIKE THOMAS ROAD

Good

Over: DITCH

SEC 5 T20N R 5W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1991 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 10

BALLASTON OLD HWY8

Good

Over: POWELL BAYOU

SEC 15 T22N R 3W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1991 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 60

MILLEN LAKE

Good

Over: LONG LAKE

SEC 10 T23N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1991 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 20

FOUR MILE ROAD

Good

Over: BROWNS BAYOU

SEC 13 T17N R 4W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1994 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 550

ACADEMY ROAD

Good

Over: DOUGHERTY BAYOU

SEC 20 T22N R 3W, Sunflower, MS

Built 2001 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 450

LONG LAKE ROAD

Good

Over: LONG LAKE

SEC 14 T23N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 2002 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 40

GENE LESTER ROAD

Good

Over: DAWSON BAYOU

SEC 19 T17N R 4W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1976 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 50

PREACHERS RD.

Good

Over: QUIVER RIVER

SEC 23 T19N R 3W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1975 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 40

BALLASTON OLD HWY8

Good

Over: QUIVER RIVER

SEC 14 T22N R 3W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1979 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 80

US 49W

Good

Over: POWELL BAYOU

4.5 MI S SR 32, Sunflower, MS

Built 1996 Load: 36.4 t ADT: 1,800

THREE MILE LAKE RD

Good

Over: MOUND BAYOU

SEC 36 T18N R 4W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1992 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 280

BUD SMITH ROAD

Good

Over: BEAVER DAM BAYOU

SEC 16 T19N R 5W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1991 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 60

SWANGO ROAD

Good

Over: DRAINAGE CANAL

SEC 17 T18N R 5W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1993 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 50

INDIANOLA DOCKERY

Good

Over: JONES BAYOU

SEC 21 T20N R 4W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 2000 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 340

SOUTH SIDE ROAD

Good

Over: SHORT BAYOU

SEC 1 T17N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 2007 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 50

DESSIE SHAW ROAD

Good

Over: SHACKLEFORD LAKE

SEC 32 T20N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1999 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 10

MALLETTE JONES RD

Good

Over: JONES BAYOU

SEC 8 T21N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 2019 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 40

SR 3

Good

Over: DITCH

4.2 MI N US 49W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1949 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 700

ALEXANDER AVENUE

Good

Over: INDIAN BAYOU

SEC 6 T18N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1989 Load: 38.3 t ADT: 2,000

BRITT ROAD

Good

Over: PORTER BAYOU

SEC 25 T20N R 5W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1977 Load: 38.3 t ADT: 180

BAY LAKE KINLOCK

Good

Over: DRAINAGE CANAL

SEC 21 T17N R 5W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1994 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 240

KINLOCK ROAD

Good

Over: INDIAN BAYOU

SEC 12 T18N R 5W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 2015 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 250

SOUTH TAYLOR RD

Good

Over: DRAINAGE CANAL

SEC 15 T19N R 3W, Sunflower, MS

Built 2014 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 40

SR 3

Good

Over: CANAL

1.0 MI N US 82, Sunflower, MS

Built 1947 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 1,100

WOODBURN ROAD

Good

Over: SUNFLOWER RIVER

SEC 27 T18N R 5W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1985 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 260

SR 3

Good

Over: DITCH

6.5 MI N US 49W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1949 Load: 42.9 t ADT: 700

TV STATION ROAD

Good

Over: MOUND BAYOU

SEC 31 T18N R 3W, Sunflower, MS

Built 2000 Load: 45.7 t ADT: 10

EAST MINOT ROAD

Good

Over: BEAR BAYOU

SEC 15 T24N R 3W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 2015 Load: 46.7 t ADT: 50

SR 3

Good

Over: DITCH

2.0 MI N US 49W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1949 Load: 47.3 t ADT: 700

TROTTER ROAD

Good

Over: JONES BAYOU

SEC 28 T21N R 4W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1999 Load: 49.6 t ADT: 20

JOHNNY RUSSELL DR.

Good

Over: MOORHEAD BAYOU

SEC 10 T18N R 3W, Sunflower, MS

Built 1997 Load: 52.2 t ADT: 150

US 49W

Good

Over: CANAL

0.1 MI S COAHOMA CL, Sunflower, MS

Built 1995 Load: 53.1 t ADT: 1,800

BLAINE ROAD

Good

Over: JONES BAYOU

SEC 3 T20N R 4W B, Sunflower, MS

Built 1999 Load: 65.4 t ADT: 240

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.