County profile · official public datasets

Saunders County, NE

506 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 27.7% rated Good, 64% Fair, 8.3% Poor.

506
Public bridges
27.7%
Good condition
8.3%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Saunders 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.

56th
of 88 on Poor share
8.3%
Poor-condition share
506
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.

Saunders County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Saunders County ranks #56 of 88 Nebraska counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 8.3%). Saunders County, Nebraska contains 506 public highway bridges. Roughly 27.7% are rated “Good,” 64% “Fair,” and 8.3% “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

506

Public highway bridges in Saunders County

Good condition

27.7%

140 of 506 rated 7-9

Fair condition

64%

324 of 506 rated 5-6

Poor condition

8.3%

42 of 506 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#56 of 88

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

Condition distribution

Share of 506 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
27.7% (140)
Fair
64% (324)
Poor
8.3% (42)

Saunders County's Poor-condition bridges carry 1,895 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 8.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 45 crossings a day against 1,134 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 506 of 506 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

52.2% of Saunders County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

264 of the 506 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 27.7% 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 14.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

COLL 7841 over STREAM, built 1965, carries 280 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 42-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 1,895 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Saunders County's bridges were built

506 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1930s, when 102 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 85 to 94 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 Saunders County compares with Nebraska's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Nebraska counties nearest Saunders County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 8.3% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1972 against a peer-group mean of 1982 is 10 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Saunders County and the 5 Nebraska counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Douglas County 509 2.9%
Saunders County (this page) 506 8.3%
Buffalo County 459 1.7%
Platte County 433 4.8%
Cuming County 402 2%
Gage County 394 8.1%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NE (506 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 506 Good 140 Fair 324 Poor 42

Poor-condition bridges (42)

BNSF RR

Poor

Over: BNSF RR 074-653-F

3N OF YUTAN, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY ROAD 15

Poor

Over: WAHOO CREEK

1.2N 1.6W OF ITHACA, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 15

COUNTY ROAD G

Poor

Over: OAK CREEK

2.6W 1N OF TOUHY, Saunders, NE

Built 1910 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 50

NELLIE ROAD

Poor

Over: WAHOO CREEK

.7W .3N OF MEMPHIS, Saunders, NE

Built 1910 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 10

COUNTY ROAD 28

Poor

Over: STREAM

2.8S 1W OF PRAGUE, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 25

COUNTY ROAD 14

Poor

Over: SILVER CREEK

.7N 2E OF COLON, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 45

COUNTY ROAD 14

Poor

Over: STREAM

1N 2E COLON, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 45

COUNTY ROAD 32

Poor

Over: SKULL CREEK

4N N92 BUTLER CL, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 25

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Poor

Over: JOHNSON CREEK

.4S 3.5W OF YUTAN, Saunders, NE

Built 1965 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 65

RD 8

Poor

Over: OTOE CREEK

.1S 1W OF LESHARA, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 35

RD I

Poor

Over: CLEAR CREEK TRIB

4.5S 1.3E OF YUTAN, Saunders, NE

Built 1960 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 10

TOWNSHIP ROAD S

Poor

Over: DUCK CREEK

.5N 2.2E OF PRAGUE, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 1.0 t ADT: 55

COUNTY ROAD 15

Poor

Over: STREAM

.2S 2W OF ITHACA, Saunders, NE

Built 1948 Load: 1.0 t ADT: 35

COUNTY ROAD D

Poor

Over: NORTH FORK ROCK CREEK

2S OF SWEDEBURG, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 2.0 t ADT: 40

ROAD 30

Poor

Over: BATES BRANCH

.3N 1.5W OF VALPARAISO, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 3.0 t ADT: 30

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Poor

Over: DUCK CREEK

.5N 3.5E OF PRAGUE, Saunders, NE

Built 1910 Load: 3.0 t ADT: 20

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Poor

Over: DUCK CREEK

.5N 4.2E OF PRAGUE, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 3.0 t ADT: 35

TOWNSHIP ROAD B

Poor

Over: MOSQUITO CREEK

5.5S 1.2E OF ITHACA, Saunders, NE

Built 1960 Load: 3.0 t ADT: 50

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Poor

Over: STREAM

1.4S 2E OF COLON, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 3.0 t ADT: 25

ROAD H

Poor

Over: WAHOO CREEK

.1W OF ITHACA, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 3.0 t ADT: 110

TOWNSHIP ROAD 26

Poor

Over: STREAM

.3S 1W OF MORSE BLUFF, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 3.0 t ADT: 40

COLL 7841

Poor

Over: STREAM

1S OF WESTON, Saunders, NE

Built 1965 Load: 4.0 t ADT: 280

COUNTY ROAD M

Poor

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

2S 2.4E OF MALMO, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 4.0 t ADT: 50

COUNTY ROAD 31

Poor

Over: NORTH OAK CREEK

3.5W 1.5N OF TOUHY, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 75

COUNTY ROAD 20

Poor

Over: SAND CREEK

2.5N 4W OF COLON, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 45

COUNTY ROAD L

Poor

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

1.5W OF WAHOO, Saunders, NE

Built 1974 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 75

TOWNSHIP ROAD G

Poor

Over: MILLER BRANCH

2.1E 3S OF WESTON, Saunders, NE

Built 1960 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 40

COUNTY ROAD 29

Poor

Over: TRIB. COTTONWOOD CRK

2W OF PRAGUE, Saunders, NE

Built 1955 Load: 5.0 t ADT: 25

COUNTY ROAD L

Poor

Over: TRIB N FORK WAHOO CRK

6S .1W OF PRAGUE, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 6.0 t ADT: 50

COUNTY ROAD 26

Poor

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

.5E 1.5S OF PRAGUE, Saunders, NE

Built 1910 Load: 6.0 t ADT: 20

TOWNSHIP ROAD 23

Poor

Over: SAND CREEK

3.5S 2E OF MORSE BLUFF, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 8.0 t ADT: 50

ROAD D

Poor

Over: SILVER CREEK

.5N 1W OF MEMPHIS, Saunders, NE

Built 1940 Load: 9.0 t ADT: 15

ROAD H

Poor

Over: WAHOO CREEK TRIB

.5W OF ITHICA, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 10.0 t ADT: 75

COUNTY ROAD J

Poor

Over: WAHOO CREEK

.1W OF WESTON, Saunders, NE

Built 1945 Load: 11.0 t ADT: 100

ROAD F

Poor

Over: SILVER CREEK

1.5S 3.1E OF ITHICA, Saunders, NE

Built 1943 Load: 12.0 t ADT: 40

COUNTY ROAD 7

Poor

Over: SILVER CREEK

.2E .6S OF MEMPHIS, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 12.0 t ADT: 25

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Poor

Over: HOBSONS BRANCH

.7N .2W OF CERESCO, Saunders, NE

Built 1965 Load: 16.0 t ADT: 40

ROAD 26

Poor

Over: WAHOO CREEK

1S 2.5W OF WESTON, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 18.0 t ADT: 40

COUNTY ROAD W

Poor

Over: SAND CREEK

3.5S 2.3E OF MORSE BLUFF, Saunders, NE

Built 1924 Load: 21.0 t ADT: 10

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Poor

Over: OTOE CREEK

2N .4E OF YUTAN, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 20

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Poor

Over: STREAM

1N 5.5W OF WESTON, Saunders, NE

Built 1950 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 20

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Poor

Over: BNSF RR 074-654-M

2N OF YUTAN, Saunders, NE

Built 1935 Load: 31.0 t ADT: 25

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.