County profile · official public datasets

Ray County, MO

185 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 36.2% rated Good, 51.4% Fair, 12.4% Poor.

185
Public bridges
36.2%
Good condition
12.4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

87th
of 115 on Poor share
12.4%
Poor-condition share
185
public highway bridges
1977
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.

Ray County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Ray County ranks #87 of 115 Missouri counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 12.4%). Ray County, Missouri contains 185 public highway bridges. Roughly 36.2% are rated “Good,” 51.4% “Fair,” and 12.4% “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

185

Public highway bridges in Ray County

Good condition

36.2%

67 of 185 rated 7-9

Fair condition

51.4%

95 of 185 rated 5-6

Poor condition

12.4%

23 of 185 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#87 of 115

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

Condition distribution

Share of 185 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
36.2% (67)
Fair
51.4% (95)
Poor
12.4% (23)

Ray County's Poor-condition bridges carry 14,166 vehicle crossings a day

That is 7.9% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 12.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 616 crossings a day against 1,357 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 185 of 185 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

41.6% of Ray County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

77 of the 185 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 36.2% 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 34.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

LEXINGTON RD over NS RR NS RR FIRST ST, built 1946, carries 4,852 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 23-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 14,166 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Ray County's bridges were built

185 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 35 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 18.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1977) matches the Missouri average (1979).

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

How Ray County compares with Missouri's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Missouri counties nearest Ray County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 12.4% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1977 against a peer-group mean of 1978 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 114 Missouri counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Ray County and the 5 Missouri counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Grundy County 187 11.2%
Marion County 186 9.1%
Livingston County 185 15.7%
Polk County 185 20.5%
Ray County (this page) 185 12.4%
Scott County 182 6.6%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside MO (185 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside MO (1977 here).

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

All 185 Good 67 Fair 95 Poor 23

All bridges (185)

W 122ST

Good

Over: W FORK CROOKED RVR

S 16 T 52 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 2019 Load: 48.6 t ADT: 30

RT T E

Good

Over: WILLOW CR

S 12 T 51 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 2002 Load: 49.5 t ADT: 1,066

MO 13 S

Good

Over: BNSF RR NS RR

S 10 T 51 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 2004 Load: 49.5 t ADT: 3,594

E 212TH ST

Good

Over: BR E FK CROOKED RV

S 21 T 54 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 2018 Load: 49.5 t ADT: 55

CALVERT FARM RD

Good

Over: W FK CROOKED RVR

S 28 T 52 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 2021 Load: 49.5 t ADT: 68

MO 13 S

Good

Over: DRAIN DTCH

S 24 T 51 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 2001 Load: 52.2 t ADT: 7,873

MO 210 E

Good

Over: DRAIN DTCH

S 22 T 51 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 1985 Load: 52.2 t ADT: 7,044

W 88TH ST

Good

Over: FISHING RVR

S 4 T 51 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 2013 Load: 52.2 t ADT: 85

MO 10 E

Good

Over: CROOKED RVR OVRFL

S 26 T 52 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 2011 Load: 53.1 t ADT: 3,739

MO 10 E

Good

Over: CROOKED RVR OVRFLW

S 25 T 52 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 2011 Load: 53.1 t ADT: 3,739

RT A S

Good

Over: WAKENDA CR

S 34 T 54 N R 26 W, Ray, MO

Built 2005 Load: 54.9 t ADT: 311

MO 10 E

Good

Over: MO 13

S 32 T 52 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 1994 Load: 61.2 t ADT: 6,863

RAUM RD

Poor

Over: UP RR

S 31 T 54 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 1940 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 380

MARY LOIS RD

Poor

Over: BR OF MUD CR

S 14 T 54 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 1940 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 25

LANDING RD

Poor

Over: CROOKED RVR

S 24 T 57 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 1900 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 25

LEXINGTON RD

Poor

Over: NS RR NS RR FIRST ST

S 16 T 51 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 1946 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 4,852

MYERS RD

Poor

Over: UP RR

S 16 T 54 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 1940 Load: 2.7 t ADT: 55

W 73 ST

Poor

Over: KEENEY CR

S 13 T 51 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 1930 Load: 3.6 t ADT: 35

BUFFALO RD

Poor

Over: TRIB TO CROOKED RV

S 7 T 51 N R 26 W, Ray, MO

Built 1970 Load: 4.5 t ADT: 10

FLEMING RD

Poor

Over: KEENEY CR

S 24 T 51 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 1930 Load: 6.3 t ADT: 50

W 216 ST

Poor

Over: UP RR

S 17 T 54 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 1940 Load: 7.2 t ADT: 30

FIRE BRANCH RD

Poor

Over: FIRE BR

S 5 T 53 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 1960 Load: 8.1 t ADT: 27

RT T E

Poor

Over: PANTHER CR

S 29 T 51 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 1933 Load: 9.0 t ADT: 442

E 200 ST

Poor

Over: BR OF EAST FORK

S 28 T 54 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 1940 Load: 10.8 t ADT: 33

DOWDY RD

Poor

Over: CROOKED RVR

S 9 T 53 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 1999 Load: 12.6 t ADT: 10

CARPENTER RD

Poor

Over: BNSF RR

S 26 T 53 N R 26 W, Ray, MO

Built 1950 Load: 13.5 t ADT: 35

W 160 ST

Poor

Over: BR OF CROOKED RVR

S 26 T 53 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 1940 Load: 16.2 t ADT: 55

GARDNER RD

Poor

Over: W FK CROOKED RVR

S 24 T 52 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 1930 Load: 20.7 t ADT: 65

MO 10 E

Poor

Over: NORBORNE DRAIN DTC

S 1 T 51 N R 26 W, Ray, MO

Built 1929 Load: 21.6 t ADT: 2,047

W 124 ST

Poor

Over: TRIB TO CROOKED RV

S 24 T 52 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 1995 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 55

RT E S

Poor

Over: MUD CR

S 18 T 54 N R 27 W, Ray, MO

Built 1957 Load: 27.0 t ADT: 141

RT D E

Poor

Over: FIRE BR

S 27 T 54 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 1954 Load: 30.6 t ADT: 794

RT Z S

Poor

Over: KINNY CR

S 26 T 51 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 1966 Load: 31.5 t ADT: 404

MO 10 E

Poor

Over: CROOKED RVR

S 20 T 52 N R 28 W, Ray, MO

Built 1924 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 3,583

RT C S

Poor

Over: BURNT FK CR

S 9 T 54 N R 29 W, Ray, MO

Built 2000 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 1,013

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.