County profile · official public datasets

Thurston County, NE

152 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 48.7% rated Good, 30.9% Fair, 20.4% Poor.

152
Public bridges
48.7%
Good condition
20.4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

83rd
of 88 on Poor share
20.4%
Poor-condition share
152
public highway bridges
1980
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.

Thurston County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Thurston County ranks #83 of 88 Nebraska counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 20.4%). Thurston County, Nebraska contains 152 public highway bridges. Roughly 48.7% are rated “Good,” 30.9% “Fair,” and 20.4% “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

152

Public highway bridges in Thurston County

Good condition

48.7%

74 of 152 rated 7-9

Fair condition

30.9%

47 of 152 rated 5-6

Poor condition

20.4%

31 of 152 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#83 of 88

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

Condition distribution

Share of 152 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
48.7% (74)
Fair
30.9% (47)
Poor
20.4% (31)

Thurston County's Poor-condition bridges carry 15,533 vehicle crossings a day

That is 18.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 20.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 501 crossings a day against 391 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 152 of 152 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

39.5% of Thurston County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

60 of the 152 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 48.7% 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 42.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

IRR/US77 over STREAM, built 1939, carries 6,565 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 31-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 15,533 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Thurston County's bridges were built

152 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2010s, when 31 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.4% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 5 to 14 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1980) matches the Nebraska average (1977).

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

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

The 5 Nebraska counties nearest Thurston County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 20.4% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1980 against a peer-group mean of 1978 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Thurston County and the 5 Nebraska counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Howard County 161 6.2%
Cheyenne County 159 1.3%
Thurston County (this page) 152 20.4%
Washington County 149 2.7%
Nance County 148 5.4%
Dixon County 146 9.6%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NE (152 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside NE (1980 here).

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

All 152 Good 74 Fair 47 Poor 31

All bridges (152)

IRR/FAS 3550

Good

Over: LOGAN CREEK

JCT N9/S-87A 2.5W, Thurston, NE

Built 1980 Load: 21.0 t ADT: 140

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: MIDDLE CREEK

.7S OF THURSTON, Thurston, NE

Built 1978 Load: 21.0 t ADT: 45

IRR/FAS 3560

Good

Over: STREAM

JCT N9/S-87A 4N .2E, Thurston, NE

Built 1977 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 105

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: MIDDLE CREEK

1.2S OF THURSTON, Thurston, NE

Built 1935 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 80

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: MIDDLE CREEK

1N OF THURSTON, Thurston, NE

Built 1999 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/FAS 3920

Good

Over: SOUTH BLACKBIRD CREEK

JCT US77/S-87B 6E, Thurston, NE

Built 1964 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 40

IRR/N9

Good

Over: MIDDLE CREEK TRIB

9N PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 1960 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 1,465

IRR/N16

Good

Over: STAGE CREEK

1SE PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 1948 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 995

IRR/US75

Good

Over: STREAM

19N DECATUR, Thurston, NE

Built 2010 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 1,435

20TH RD

Good

Over: COW CREEK

2.5E .2N OF THURSTON, Thurston, NE

Built 2022 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 25

N16

Good

Over: LOGAN CREEK TRIBUTARY

3W PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2020 Load: 24.0 t ADT: 1,195

N16

Good

Over: RATTLESNAKE CREEK

7W PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2018 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 1,195

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: NORTH BLACKBIRD CREEK

2S 3.5E OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 1995 Load: 26.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/FAS 3550

Good

Over: MIDDLE CREEK

JCT N9/S-87A 1.8E, Thurston, NE

Built 1950 Load: 26.0 t ADT: 115

IRR/TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: RATTLESNAKE CREEK

4.5W OF PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2004 Load: 32.0 t ADT: 20

IRR/US75

Good

Over: SOUTH BLACKBIRD CREEK

8N DECATUR, Thurston, NE

Built 2010 Load: 32.0 t ADT: 1,380

IRR BIA RTE 52

Good

Over: UNNAMED CANAL

50M W OF NE HWY 77, Thurston, NE

Built 2007 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 415

B AVE

Good

Over: NORTH OMAHA CR TRIB

5.7W 2N OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 2020 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

1.5S 4W OF EMERSON, Thurston, NE

Built 2010 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 60

14TH RD

Good

Over: LOGAN CREEK DREDGE TRIB

2W OF PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2020 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 40

IRR/COLL 7877

Good

Over: STREAM

1.5E OF THURSTON, Thurston, NE

Built 2017 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 50

21ST RD

Good

Over: LOGAN CR DREDGE TRIB

4E .1S OF PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2018 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 35

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: RATTLESNAKE CREEK

3.5W 1N OF PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2017 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 35

24TH RD

Good

Over: BIG SLOUGH CREEK

3N 3W OF ROSALIE, Thurston, NE

Built 2011 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 20

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

2S 3.5W OF WALTHILL, Thurston, NE

Built 1981 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 40

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

1.5SE OF ROSALIE, Thurston, NE

Built 1935 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 40

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

1.5S .2E OF ROSALIE, Thurston, NE

Built 2013 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: SOUTH BLACKBIRD CREEK

1.5S 7.5E OF ROSALIE, Thurston, NE

Built 2011 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 30

IRR/TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: SOUTH OMAHA CREEK

.5S OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 1991 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 80

15TH RD

Good

Over: MIDDLE CREEK TRIB

2S 1W OF EMERSON, Thurston, NE

Built 2018 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 30

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

1E 1N OF PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2014 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 40

M AVE

Good

Over: LOGAN CR DREDGE TRIB

3.2E OF PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2020 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 30

28TH RD

Good

Over: SOUTH OMAHA CREEK

JCT US77/S-87B 2W 1.9N, Thurston, NE

Built 2017 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 110

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: NORTH OMAHA CREEK

1.5N OF WALTHILL, Thurston, NE

Built 1986 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 80

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: NORTH OMAHA CREEK

3S 3.5W OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 2013 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 10

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: NORTH OMAHA CREEK

4.5W OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 2014 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/N9

Good

Over: STREAM

3N PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 1999 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 1,820

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

4W N9 DIXON CL, Thurston, NE

Built 2003 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/FAS 3560

Good

Over: LOGAN CREEK

8N N16 WAYNE CL, Thurston, NE

Built 2000 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 105

IRR/TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: NORTH OMAHA CREEK

3S 3W OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 2016 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

.5S 6.2E OF ROSALIE, Thurston, NE

Built 2004 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 20

IRR/FAS 3550

Good

Over: COW CREEK

JCT N9/S-87A 7.1E, Thurston, NE

Built 1996 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 95

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

4.2W OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 2001 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 25

N16

Good

Over: RATTLESNAKE CREEK

5W PENDER, Thurston, NE

Built 2018 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 1,195

IRR/US75

Good

Over: NORTH BLACKBIRD CREEK

8N DECATUR, Thurston, NE

Built 2010 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 1,380

IRR/TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: MORGAN CREEK

.7S OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 2015 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 65

AVE N

Good

Over: SOUTH OMAHA CREEK

4S OF WALTHILL, Thurston, NE

Built 2019 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: BIG SLOUGH CREEK

1.5S OF ROSALIE, Thurston, NE

Built 2002 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 25

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: SOUTH OMAHA CREEK

2S OF WALTHILL, Thurston, NE

Built 1994 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 15

IRR/COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

6W 2N OF WINNEBAGO, Thurston, NE

Built 2002 Load: 37.0 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.