Total bridges
115
Public highway bridges in Valley County
County profile · official public datasets
115 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 80.9% rated Good, 19.1% Fair, 0% Poor.
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Valley County posts a top-1% lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
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.
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Valley County ranks #1 of 88 Nebraska counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 0%). Valley County, Nebraska contains 115 public highway bridges. Roughly 80.9% are rated “Good,” 19.1% “Fair,” and 0% “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
115
Public highway bridges in Valley County
Good condition
80.9%
93 of 115 rated 7-9
Fair condition
19.1%
22 of 115 rated 5-6
Poor condition
0%
0 of 115 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#1 of 88
Among Nebraska counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Share of 115 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
39 of the 115 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 80.9% 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.
115 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
1910–1919
1 bridges
1920–1929
1 bridges
1930–1939
11 bridges
1950–1959
12 bridges
1960–1969
8 bridges
1970–1979
8 bridges
1980–1989
37 bridges
1990–1999
12 bridges
2000–2009
9 bridges
2010–2019
8 bridges
2020–2029
8 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 37 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 32.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1981) matches the Nebraska average (1977).
The 5 Nebraska counties nearest Valley County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 0% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1981 against a peer-group mean of 1974 is 7 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 87 Nebraska counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County | 134 | 66.4% | 27.6% | 6% | 1975 |
| Sherman County | 118 | 57.6% | 39% | 3.4% | 1972 |
| Valley County (this page) | 115 | 80.9% | 19.1% | 0% | 1981 |
| Franklin County | 104 | 58.7% | 38.5% | 2.9% | 1977 |
| Frontier County | 96 | 59.4% | 20.8% | 19.8% | 1970 |
| Polk County | 94 | 57.4% | 30.9% | 11.7% | 1975 |
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 Valley County's. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
Two NBI-derived peer sets for Valley County, both outside Nebraska so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Nearest county inventories outside NE (115 bridges here).
Nearest mean year-built outside NE (1981 here).
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Over: DANE CREEK
1.2W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MESSENGER CREEK
7.5E .5S ORD, Valley, NE
Over: TURTLE CREEK
7W 1.5N ORD, Valley, NE
Over: ELM CREEK
2.5E 1.2N ORD, Valley, NE
Over: DANE CREEK
N CORP LIMITS OF ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MESSENGER CREEK
6.2N OF NORTH LOUP, Valley, NE
Over: HAWTHORNE CREEK
.2 S ARCADIA, Valley, NE
Over: UNAMED CREEK
.7S 10.9E ARCADIA, Valley, NE
Over: N BR MIRA CREEK
7.5W .8N NORTH LOUP, Valley, NE
Over: HASKELL CREEK
6N OF ORD, Valley, NE
Over: DANE CREEK
WJCT N11/N70 .6N .8W, Valley, NE
Over: N BR MIRA CREEK
JCT N22/N70 3.6E 2.5N, Valley, NE
Over: N BR TURTLE CREEK
4.5W 3.6N ORD, Valley, NE
Over: S BR MIRA CREEK
2.7W 1S OF NORTH LOUP, Valley, NE
Over: DANE CREEK
3W 3S ORD, Valley, NE
Over: DANE CREEK
WJCT N11/N70 .6N .4W, Valley, NE
Over: SHERMAN RESERVOIR CANAL
JCT N58/N70 6.5W 2.5N, Valley, NE
Over: DANE CREEK
1S 1.5W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: STREAM
1N .7W OF ELYRIA, Valley, NE
Over: HAWTHORNE CREEK
N EDGE ARCADIA, Valley, NE
Over: TURTLE CREEK
4.5W 3N ORD, Valley, NE
Over: S BR MIRA CREEK
3W NORTH LOUP, Valley, NE
Over: Geranium Canal
10.6 miles W of Ord NE, Valley, NE
Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK
3.5N 1.7W ARCADIA, Valley, NE
Over: HAWTHORNE CREEK
1.5E 2.7N ARCADIA, Valley, NE
Over: DAVIS CREEK
5.5W 5S NORTH LOUP, Valley, NE
Over: GERANIUM CANAL
8W 2.8N ORD, Valley, NE
Over: GERANIUM CANAL
11.2W 2N ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
3S 4.5W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
4S 5W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
5S 4.5W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
9S 2W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
5.5W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
1S 6W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
7S 2W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
5S 4W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
8S 2W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: GERANIUM CANAL
10.5W 1N ORD, Valley, NE
Over: STREAM
1E OF ORD, Valley, NE
Over: STREAM
.2N 1.2E ORD, Valley, NE
Over: TURTLE CREEK
WJCT N11/N70 .6N 8.8W, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
9S 1W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK
JCT N22/N70 5N 8.8W, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
9.5S ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
9.5S 1E ORD, Valley, NE
Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK
2.5N 2W ARCADIA, Valley, NE
Over: DANE CREEK
WJCT N11/N70 2.4S 2.2E, Valley, NE
Over: N BR TURTLE CREEK
7.5W 5N ORD, Valley, NE
Over: MIRDAN CANAL
6S 4W ORD, Valley, NE
Over: STREAM
2N NORTH LOUP, Valley, NE
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
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.