County profile · official public datasets

Hayes County, NE

41 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 56.1% rated Good, 29.3% Fair, 14.6% Poor.

41
Public bridges
56.1%
Good condition
14.6%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

77th
of 88 on Poor share
14.6%
Poor-condition share
41
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.

Hayes County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Hayes County ranks #77 of 88 Nebraska counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 14.6%). Hayes County, Nebraska contains 41 public highway bridges. Roughly 56.1% are rated “Good,” 29.3% “Fair,” and 14.6% “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

41

Public highway bridges in Hayes County

Good condition

56.1%

23 of 41 rated 7-9

Fair condition

29.3%

12 of 41 rated 5-6

Poor condition

14.6%

6 of 41 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#77 of 88

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

Condition distribution

Share of 41 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
56.1% (23)
Fair
29.3% (12)
Poor
14.6% (6)

Hayes County's Poor-condition bridges carry 325 vehicle crossings a day

That is 2.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 14.6% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 54 crossings a day against 461 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 41 of 41 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

53.7% of Hayes County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

22 of the 41 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 56.1% 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 46.2% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

FAS 1455 over STREAM, built 1938, carries 150 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 6-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 325 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Hayes County's bridges were built

41 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1930s, when 9 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 22% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 85 to 94 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1977) matches the Nebraska average (1977).

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

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

The 5 Nebraska counties nearest Hayes County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 14.6% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1977 against a peer-group mean of 1974 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Hayes County and the 5 Nebraska counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Dundy County 47 0%
Hayes County (this page) 41 14.6%
Banner County 36 0%
Sioux County 36 2.8%
Chase County 33 3%
Box Butte County 30 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 Hayes 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 Hayes County, both outside Nebraska so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NE (41 bridges here).

Similar average build year

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

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

All 41 Good 23 Fair 12 Poor 6

All bridges (41)

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: BLACKWOOD CREEK

2.5N 5W OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1935 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: STINKING WATER CREEK

5.5W 8N OF HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 1935 Load: 8.0 t ADT: 40

SPILLWAY ROAD

Fair

Over: CAMP HAYES LAKE OVERFLOW

HAYES CNTER WILDLIFE AREA, Hayes, NE

Built 1935 Load: 11.0 t ADT: 5

362A AVE

Fair

Over: BLACKWOOD CREEK

4S 2W OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1948 Load: 15.0 t ADT: 15

N25A

Fair

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

IN PALISADE, Hayes, NE

Built 1964 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 175

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

12.5E 7S OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 2016 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 5

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

12E 6.7S OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 2016 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 5

N25

Fair

Over: BLACKWOOD CREEK

4S HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1957 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 495

N25A

Fair

Over: CULBERTSON CANAL

IN PALISADE, Hayes, NE

Built 1964 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 175

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Fair

Over: STREAM

4.2W 1S HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1935 Load: 27.0 t ADT: 20

FAS 1425

Fair

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

JCT US6/S-43A .6S .2E, Hayes, NE

Built 1981 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 85

COLL 7270

Fair

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

10E OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 2014 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 65

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

5E 4.5N OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1993 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 30

FAS 1455

Good

Over: STREAM

JCT N25/N25A 2.9S 6.7E, Hayes, NE

Built 1935 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 75

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: BURGER CANYON

4S 10E OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 2003 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 30

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

3.5E 9N OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 2003 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 5

N25

Good

Over: GOVERNMENT CANYON

1S HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1957 Load: 23.0 t ADT: 495

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

1SE OF HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 2016 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 20

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

3E 1S OF HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 2017 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

12E 6.5S OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 2017 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 5

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: BLACKWOOD CREEK

5S 1E OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 2017 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 10

US6

Good

Over: WILD HORSE CREEK

3E WAUNETA, Hayes, NE

Built 1974 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 1,565

FAS 1425

Good

Over: STINKING WATER CREEK

JCT US6/S-43A 1.6E 3N, Hayes, NE

Built 1995 Load: 30.0 t ADT: 85

US6

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

2W HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 1974 Load: 30.0 t ADT: 1,565

US6

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

1W HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 1974 Load: 31.0 t ADT: 1,565

US6

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

1E HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 1974 Load: 31.0 t ADT: 1,600

PRIVATE DRIVE

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

4.5W 1.5N HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 2019 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 5

US6

Good

Over: STREAM

4E WAUNETA, Hayes, NE

Built 1974 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 1,565

US6

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

1W PALISADE, Hayes, NE

Built 1974 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 1,600

COLL 7272

Good

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

4E 8N OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1986 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 60

FAS 1382

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

HAMLET OLD US6 @ S-43A, Hayes, NE

Built 1985 Load: 37.0 t ADT: 75

AVE 359A

Good

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

1N OF PALISADE, Hayes, NE

Built 2022 Load: 38.0 t ADT: 60

COLL 7238

Good

Over: STINKING WATER CREEK

1.5W 5N OF HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 1994 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 45

FAS 1470

Good

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

JCT N25/N25A 11.5N 6E, Hayes, NE

Built 1988 Load: 43.0 t ADT: 110

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

12.5E 7.5S HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 2023 Load: 57.0 t ADT: 25

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Poor

Over: STREAM

2N OF PALISADE, Hayes, NE

Built 1932 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 20

370A AVE

Poor

Over: BLACKWOOD CREEK

JCT N25/N25A 2.2S 6.3E, Hayes, NE

Built 1946 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 75

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Poor

Over: FRENCHMAN CREEK

1.5N 4W OF HAMLET, Hayes, NE

Built 1935 Load: 4.0 t ADT: 40

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Poor

Over: STREAM

7W 1S OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1935 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Poor

Over: RED WILLOW CREEK

4.5S 11E OF HAYES CENTER, Hayes, NE

Built 1962 Load: 6.0 t ADT: 30

FAS 1455

Poor

Over: STREAM

JCT N25/N25A 7.5W 9N, Hayes, NE

Built 1938 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 150

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.