Total bridges
401
Public highway bridges in Vernon County
County profile · official public datasets
Vernon County, MO
401 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 35.4% rated Good, 60.3% Fair, 4.2% Poor.
- 401
- Public bridges
- 35.4%
- Good condition
- 4.2%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Vernon County pairs a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.
- Top 13%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 4.2%
- Poor-condition share
- 401
- public highway bridges
- 1988
- 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.
Vernon County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Vernon County ranks #15 of 115 Missouri counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4.2%). Vernon County, Missouri contains 401 public highway bridges. Roughly 35.4% are rated “Good,” 60.3% “Fair,” and 4.2% “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
35.4%
142 of 401 rated 7-9
Fair condition
60.3%
242 of 401 rated 5-6
Poor condition
4.2%
17 of 401 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#15 of 115
Among Missouri counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 401 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 35.4% (142)
Fair 60.3% (242)
Poor 4.2% (17)
Vernon County's Poor-condition bridges carry 40,910 vehicle crossings a day
That is 13.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4.2% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 2,406 crossings a day against 372 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 401 of 401 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
25.9% of Vernon County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
104 of the 401 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 35.4% 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 22.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
IS 49 S over US 54 MNA RR, built 1969, carries 9,126 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 17-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 40,910 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Vernon County's bridges were built
401 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1900s 2
1900–1909
2 bridges
- 1920s 14
1920–1929
14 bridges
- 1930s 16
1930–1939
16 bridges
- 1940s 9
1940–1949
9 bridges
- 1950s 25
1950–1959
25 bridges
- 1960s 29
1960–1969
29 bridges
- 1970s 14
1970–1979
14 bridges
- 1980s 31
1980–1989
31 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
97 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
74 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
67 bridges
- 2020s 23
2020–2029
23 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 97 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 24.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1988, 9 years newer than the Missouri average of 1979.
How Vernon County compares with Missouri's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Missouri counties nearest Vernon County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4.2% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1988 against a peer-group mean of 1986 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 114 Missouri counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Charles County | 417 | 32.4% | 64.3% | 3.4% | 1994 |
| Jefferson County | 411 | 33.6% | 63% | 3.4% | 1981 |
| Vernon County (this page) | 401 | 35.4% | 60.3% | 4.2% | 1988 |
| Nodaway County | 396 | 48% | 37.6% | 14.4% | 1992 |
| Cass County | 377 | 36.3% | 54.9% | 8.8% | 1983 |
| Cape Girardeau County | 374 | 35.8% | 59.1% | 5.1% | 1978 |
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 Vernon 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 Vernon County, both outside Missouri so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside MO (401 bridges here).
- San Luis Obispo County, CA · 401 bridges
- Randolph County, NC · 401 bridges
- Jackson County, OR · 401 bridges
- Marshall County, KS · 402 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside MO (1988 here).
- Travis County, TX · avg 1988 · 1,544 bridges
- Grant County, OK · avg 1988 · 476 bridges
- Loudoun County, VA · avg 1988 · 442 bridges
- Licking County, OH · avg 1988 · 439 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (242)
US 54 E
FairOver: ROCKY HOLLOW
S 33 T 36 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1926 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 3,189
IS 49 S
FairOver: LIT OSAGE RVR OVRF
S 17 T 37 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1970 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 5,767
COUNTY RD 1125
FairOver: TRIB LIT DRYWOOD C
S 15 T 34 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1994 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 30
COUNTY RD 1700
FairOver: BIRCH CR
S 10 T 35 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2001 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 300
US 54 E
FairOver: BR OF DRYWOOD CR
S 5 T 35 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1983 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 3,805
IS 49 S
FairOver: MNA RR
S 29 T 38 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2011 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 5,767
COUNTY RD 2825
FairOver: TRIB OF CLEAR CR
S 4 T 34 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2015 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 40
RT DD E
FairOver: CLEAR CR
S 21 T 34 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1986 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 434
COUNTY RD 1625
FairOver: TRIB OF LANDON BR
S 4 T 34 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1950 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 35
COUNTY RD 1025
FairOver: TRIB LIT DRYWOOD C
S 20 T 34 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2000 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 40
COUNTY RD 1000
FairOver: TWO MILE CR
S 28 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2005 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 30
COUNTY RD 2400
FairOver: TRIB OF W FORK CR
S 36 T 36 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2004 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 40
CR 550
FairOver: TRIB W FORK CR
S 35 T 38 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2019 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 25
US 54 E
FairOver: KAVINE CR
S 3 T 35 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1931 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 3,805
COUNTY RD ZODIAC
FairOver: TRIB CLEAR CR
S 36 T 34 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1996 Load: 35.1 t ADT: 50
LADY RD
FairOver: TRIB COTTONWOOD CR
S 27 T 36 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2015 Load: 35.1 t ADT: 20
CR 2625
FairOver: TRIB OF MCCARTY CR
S 31 T 34 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2019 Load: 35.1 t ADT: 20
MISSION RD
FairOver: TRIB OF FLY CR
S 36 T 36 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2006 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 15
TALLEY BEND RD
FairOver: TRIB TO LANDON BR
S 33 T 35 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2007 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 200
COUNTY RD 825
FairOver: TOWNSEND SLU
S 20 T 37 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2011 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 5
US 54 E
FairOver: CLEAR CR
S 34 T 36 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1992 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 3,189
COUNTY RD 1000
FairOver: SLOUGH
S 33 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2005 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 30
MILITIA RD
FairOver: TWO MILE CR
S 28 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2005 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 30
GRANGE RD
FairOver: TRIB OF LADIES BR
S 36 T 37 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2007 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 15
US 54 E
FairOver: MNA RR
S 8 T 35 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1987 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 3,362
COUNTY RD 3000
FairOver: TRIB OF KITTEN CR
S 26 T 37 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1992 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 20
COUNTY RD 325
FairOver: W FK OF DRYWOOD CR
S 17 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1980 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 35
COUNTY RD 1200
FairOver: DRY BR INGRAM CR
S 25 T 35 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2000 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 30
COUNTY RD 3125
FairOver: BR OF STINKING CR
S 2 T 34 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2000 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 50
COUNTY RD 3125
FairOver: TRIB OF STINKING C
S 2 T 34 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2000 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 50
COUNTY RD OVERLAND
FairOver: TRIB OF FLY CR
S 12 T 35 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2001 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 5
COUNTY RD 1000
FairOver: TWO MILE CR
S 28 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2005 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 30
COUNTY RD 1000
FairOver: TWO MILE CR
S 33 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2005 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 30
US 54 E
FairOver: ROBINSON CR
S 30 T 36 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1992 Load: 37.8 t ADT: 5,131
COUNTY RD THOMAS
FairOver: MILL BR
S 4 T 34 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2004 Load: 38.7 t ADT: 40
COUNTY RD THOMAS
FairOver: TRIB MULBERRY CR
S 4 T 34 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2004 Load: 38.7 t ADT: 40
CATON RD
FairOver: COTTONWOOD CR
S 5 T 37 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1997 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 20
HALLEY RD
FairOver: TRIB OF KITTEN CR
S 4 T 36 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1996 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 25
COUNTY RD 850
FairOver: TRIB HACKBERRY BR
S 20 T 35 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1993 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 30
COUNTY RD 1650
FairOver: MOORE BR
S 27 T 35 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1997 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 100
COUNTY RD 2125
FairOver: TRIB OF BEE BR
S 21 T 37 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2008 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 15
COUNTY RD 2225
FairOver: TRIB OF CLEAR CR
S 4 T 34 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2006 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 25
HALLEY RD
FairOver: HIGHTOWER CR
S 6 T 36 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2008 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 15
BAILEY RD
FairOver: DUNCAN CR
S 6 T 37 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2011 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 20
CR PIONEER
FairOver: TRIB FLY CR
S 13 T 35 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2015 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 20
RT N E
FairOver: LIT DRYWOOD CR
S 28 T 34 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1962 Load: 39.6 t ADT: 470
INDIAN LINE RD
FairOver: DOUGLAS BR
S 6 T 36 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1996 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 35
LADY RD
FairOver: COTTONWOOD CR
S 21 T 36 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO
Built 1993 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 20
STONE RD
FairOver: TRIB OF CLEAR CR
S 33 T 35 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2008 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 5
MILITIA RD
FairOver: TRIB TWO MILE CR
S 29 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO
Built 2011 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 30
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.