County profile · official public datasets

Brown County, NE

56 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 42.9% rated Good, 50% Fair, 7.1% Poor.

56
Public bridges
42.9%
Good condition
7.1%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Brown 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.

48th
of 88 on Poor share
7.1%
Poor-condition share
56
public highway bridges
1972
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.

Brown County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Brown County ranks #48 of 88 Nebraska counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 7.1%). Brown County, Nebraska contains 56 public highway bridges. Roughly 42.9% are rated “Good,” 50% “Fair,” and 7.1% “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

56

Public highway bridges in Brown County

Good condition

42.9%

24 of 56 rated 7-9

Fair condition

50%

28 of 56 rated 5-6

Poor condition

7.1%

4 of 56 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#48 of 88

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

Condition distribution

Share of 56 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
42.9% (24)
Fair
50% (28)
Poor
7.1% (4)

Brown County's Poor-condition bridges carry 190 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.5% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 7.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 48 crossings a day against 381 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 56 of 56 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

57.1% of Brown County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

32 of the 56 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 42.9% 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 65.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

COUNTY HIGHWAY over LONG PINE CREEK, built 1935, carries 125 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 4-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 190 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Brown County's bridges were built

56 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 23 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 41.1% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1972, 5 years older than the Nebraska average of 1977.

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

How Brown County compares with Nebraska's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Nebraska counties nearest Brown County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 7.1% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1972 against a peer-group mean of 1972 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 87 Nebraska counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Brown County and the 5 Nebraska counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Boyd County 64 4.7%
Sheridan County 63 0%
Gosper County 62 9.7%
Cherry County 57 19.3%
Brown County (this page) 56 7.1%
Dundy County 47 0%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NE (56 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside NE (1972 here).

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

All 56 Good 24 Fair 28 Poor 4

All bridges (56)

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: GOOSE CREEK

2E 2N BLAINE/CHERRY CO LN, Brown, NE

Built 1980 Load: 2.0 t ADT: 5

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: GOOSE CREEK

1.1N 2.7E BLN/CHRY CO LN, Brown, NE

Built 1980 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 5

880TH ROAD

Fair

Over: AIRPORT LATERAL

_, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 50

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

.3N OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 9.0 t ADT: 50

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

1N 3W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 10.0 t ADT: 15

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

6N 4.7E OF JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 11.0 t ADT: 5

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

1E .5N OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 11.0 t ADT: 100

COLL 7424

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

1N 2.5E OF JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 13.0 t ADT: 30

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

3E 2.2N OF JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 13.0 t ADT: 15

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

7N 5W AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 14.0 t ADT: 5

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

.4S 2.5W OF JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 14.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

7N 4W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 14.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

7N 2W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 14.0 t ADT: 5

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

1N 4W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 15.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

3.5N 4W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 15.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

3N 4E OF JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 15.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

7.4N 5W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 15.0 t ADT: 10

880th Rd

Fair

Over: Ainsworth Canal Lateral

2.9 mi NE of Johnstown, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 17.5 t ADT: 5

PONDEROSA RD

Fair

Over: WILLOW CREEK

.5W OF LONG PINE, Brown, NE

Built 1935 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

1.4W .7S JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 2001 Load: 32.0 t ADT: 75

FAS 1765

Fair

Over: PINE CREEK

WJCT US20/US183 3E 5.3S, Brown, NE

Built 1977 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 85

FAS 1765

Fair

Over: PINE CREEK

WJCT US20/US283 3E 3.5S, Brown, NE

Built 1977 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 85

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: BONE CREEK

2E 3N OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1935 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 15

FAS 1755

Fair

Over: PLUM CREEK

WJCT US20/N7 10W 8.2N, Brown, NE

Built 1977 Load: 40.0 t ADT: 190

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: BONE CREEK

1E 2.7N OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 2006 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 15

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: WILLOW CREEK

2.5W LONG PINE, Brown, NE

Built 1996 Load: 46.0 t ADT: 20

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: CALAMUS RIVER (RABE)

28.5S 1.2W OF LONG PINE, Brown, NE

Built 2004 Load: 57.0 t ADT: 30

US20

Fair

Over: LONG PINE CREEK

2E AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1983 Load: 60.0 t ADT: 2,845

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

1W 1N OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 45

FAS 1787

Good

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

IN AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 11.0 t ADT: 455

428TH AVE

Good

Over: SAND DRAW

2W 4.7N AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1935 Load: 12.0 t ADT: 15

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

7N 3W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 14.0 t ADT: 5

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

.2N 2W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 2016 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 15

US20

Good

Over: STREAM

1W AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1932 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 1,645

US20

Good

Over: STREAM

WCL AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1932 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 1,645

US183

Good

Over: STREAM

12W BASSETT, Brown, NE

Built 1954 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 510

GOBBLERS ROOST RD

Good

Over: PLUM CREEK

14N .5W OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1965 Load: 23.0 t ADT: 10

FAS 1787

Good

Over: NIOBRARA RIVER (MEADVIL)

6W US183 KEYA PAHA CL, Brown, NE

Built 2010 Load: 23.0 t ADT: 65

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: GOOSE CREEK

2E 2N BLAINE/CHERRY CO LN, Brown, NE

Built 1980 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 5

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

1N OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1980 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 80

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

4E .2S OF JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 20

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: SAND DRAW CREEK (KELLY)

1W 5.2N OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1992 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 10

FAS 1755

Good

Over: NIOBRARA RIVER

16NW US183 KEYA PAHA CL, Brown, NE

Built 2016 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 100

430TH AVE

Good

Over: SAND DRAW CREEK

5.7N OF AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1992 Load: 31.0 t ADT: 25

US20

Good

Over: SAND DRAW CREEK

7W AINSWORTH, Brown, NE

Built 1978 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 1,645

US183

Good

Over: BONE CREEK

11S SPRINGVIEW, Brown, NE

Built 2001 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 510

COLL 7424

Good

Over: AINSWORTH IRRIG CANAL

2E .2S OF JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 1963 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 185

PINE CROSSING ROAD

Good

Over: LONG PINE CREEK

_, Brown, NE

Built 2021 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 15

FAIRFIELD ROAD

Good

Over: FAIRFIELD CREEK

14.5N .7W OF JOHNSTOWN, Brown, NE

Built 1986 Load: 44.0 t ADT: 20

MEADVILLE AVE

Good

Over: SAND DRAW

7.2W 0.9S OF WINNETOON, Brown, NE

Built 2023 Load: 46.0 t ADT: 260

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.