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.

Total bridges

401

Public highway bridges in Vernon County

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

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.

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

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.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Vernon County and the 5 Missouri counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
St. Charles County 417 3.4%
Jefferson County 411 3.4%
Vernon County (this page) 401 4.2%
Nodaway County 396 14.4%
Cass County 377 8.8%
Cape Girardeau County 374 5.1%

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).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside MO (1988 here).

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

All 401 Good 142 Fair 242 Poor 17

Good-condition bridges (142)

RT N E

Good

Over: LIT DRYWOOD CR

S 13 T 34 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2018 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 470

COUNTY RD 800

Good

Over: TRIB OF DRYWOOD CR

S 31 T 35 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2007 Load: 41.4 t ADT: 25

COUNTY RD ZODIAC

Good

Over: LIT DRYWOOD CR

S 36 T 34 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1998 Load: 42.3 t ADT: 75

COUNTY RD 575

Good

Over: MCKILL CR

S 34 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2001 Load: 42.3 t ADT: 30

CRD 725

Good

Over: CRK

S 7 T 35 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2022 Load: 42.3 t ADT: 20

RT KK E

Good

Over: FK MOORES BR

S 21 T 35 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1900 Load: 42.3 t ADT: 252

COUNTY RD 375

Good

Over: TRIB OF DRYWOOD CR

S 5 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2007 Load: 43.2 t ADT: 25

CR EARHART

Good

Over: LANDON BR

S 24 T 37 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2016 Load: 43.2 t ADT: 25

RT O E

Good

Over: TWO MILE CR

S 17 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1965 Load: 43.2 t ADT: 211

COUNTY RD 2550

Good

Over: TRIB OF CLEAR CR

S 1 T 34 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2005 Load: 44.1 t ADT: 30

COUNTY RD 900

Good

Over: TRIB CHRISTIAN CR

S 5 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2005 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 25

CRD TYREE

Good

Over: MCCARTY CR

S 5 T 34 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2021 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 10

575 RD

Good

Over: BR DRY WOOD CR

S 32 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2023 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 20

JAMES RD

Good

Over: TRIB TO DOUGLAS BR

S 15 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2023 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 25

COUNTY RD 2400

Good

Over: TRIB ROBINSON BR

S 23 T 36 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1988 Load: 45.9 t ADT: 100

IS 49 N

Good

Over: LIT OSAGE RVR

S 17 T 37 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2011 Load: 45.9 t ADT: 5,859

STOCKAGE RD

Good

Over: TRIB OF CLEAR CR

S 25 T 35 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2018 Load: 45.9 t ADT: 10

US 54 E

Good

Over: FLY CR

S 25 T 36 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1997 Load: 45.9 t ADT: 3,189

MAIN ST

Good

Over: TRIB OF WHITE BR

S 5 T 35 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2000 Load: 46.8 t ADT: 400

MILITIA RD

Good

Over: TWO MILE CR

S 28 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2012 Load: 46.8 t ADT: 30

COUNTY RD 2025

Good

Over: TRIB OF CLEAR CR

S 6 T 34 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2014 Load: 46.8 t ADT: 1

IS 49 S

Good

Over: MNA RAILRD

S 14 T 35 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2022 Load: 46.8 t ADT: 7,556

COUNTY RD 825

Good

Over: MCKILL CR

S 36 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1994 Load: 47.7 t ADT: 20

RT M S

Good

Over: BEE BR

S 17 T 37 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1983 Load: 47.7 t ADT: 208

COUNTY RD 725

Good

Over: TRIB OF DRYWOOD CR

S 1 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2014 Load: 47.7 t ADT: 30

STOCKADE

Good

Over: HACKBERRY BR

S 27 T 35 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2021 Load: 47.7 t ADT: 30

COUNTY RD 725

Good

Over: TRIB MCKILL CR

S 25 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2010 Load: 48.6 t ADT: 30

COUNTY RD 500

Good

Over: TRIB OF DRYWOOD CR

S 14 T 35 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2013 Load: 48.6 t ADT: 25

CR 425

Good

Over: CRK

S 4 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2022 Load: 48.6 t ADT: 30

ZODIAC RD

Good

Over: BR DRY WOOD CR

S 32 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2023 Load: 48.6 t ADT: 30

NEOSHO RD

Good

Over: CLEAR CR

S 3 T 35 N R 29 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2021 Load: 49.5 t ADT: 30

BLAIR RD

Good

Over: PRYOR CR

S 6 T 37 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2022 Load: 49.5 t ADT: 20

CR 1525

Good

Over: BIRCH CR

S 9 T 35 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2018 Load: 54.0 t ADT: 150

PANAMA RD

Good

Over: BIRCH CR

S 9 T 35 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2022 Load: 54.0 t ADT: 300

MOLES RD

Good

Over: MARMATON RVR

S 34 T 36 N R 32 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2004 Load: 54.9 t ADT: 100

RT K E

Good

Over: W FK CLEAR CR

S 18 T 35 N R 30 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2017 Load: 54.9 t ADT: 630

GRAY RD

Good

Over: TRIB TO DOUGLAS BR

S 31 T 37 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2023 Load: 56.7 t ADT: 5

STOCKADE RD

Good

Over: CRK

S 32 T 35 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2023 Load: 57.6 t ADT: 10

COUNTY RD YATER

Good

Over: TRIB OF MCKILL CR

S 24 T 34 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1993 Load: 61.2 t ADT: 25

CR 1425

Good

Over: LIT OSAGE RVR

S 17 T 37 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2014 Load: 63.9 t ADT: 100

RT B E

Good

Over: LIT CLEAR CR

S 25 T 34 N R 31 W, Vernon, MO

Built 1995 Load: 72.0 t ADT: 1,344

LADY RD

Good

Over: SHILOH CR

S 19 T 36 N R 33 W, Vernon, MO

Built 2021 Load: 81.9 t ADT: 25

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.