County profile · official public datasets

Salem County, NJ

114 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 28.1% rated Good, 69.3% Fair, 2.6% Poor.

114
Public bridges
28.1%
Good condition
2.6%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Salem County posts a top-10% lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

Top 10%
lowest Poor share in state
2.6%
Poor-condition share
114
public highway bridges
1965
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.

Salem County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Salem County ranks #2 of 21 New Jersey counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 2.6%). Salem County, New Jersey contains 114 public highway bridges. Roughly 28.1% are rated “Good,” 69.3% “Fair,” and 2.6% “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

114

Public highway bridges in Salem County

Good condition

28.1%

32 of 114 rated 7-9

Fair condition

69.3%

79 of 114 rated 5-6

Poor condition

2.6%

3 of 114 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#2 of 21

Among New Jersey counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better

Condition distribution

Share of 114 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
28.1% (32)
Fair
69.3% (79)
Poor
2.6% (3)

Salem County's Poor-condition bridges carry 17,301 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.9% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 2.6% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 5,767 crossings a day against 4,096 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 114 of 114 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

68.4% of Salem County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

78 of the 114 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 28.1% 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 40.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

RT 48 over I-295, built 1965, carries 7,005 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 3-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 17,301 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Salem County's bridges were built

114 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1950s, when 20 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 17.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 65 to 74 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1965) matches the New Jersey average (1966).

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

How Salem County compares with New Jersey's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 New Jersey counties nearest Salem County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 2.6% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1965 against a peer-group mean of 1968 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 20 New Jersey counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Salem County and the 5 New Jersey counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Atlantic County 207 5.8%
Hudson County 202 6.4%
Sussex County 174 9.2%
Salem County (this page) 114 2.6%
Cumberland County 103 4.9%
Cape May County 74 12.2%

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 Salem 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 Salem County, both outside New Jersey so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NJ (114 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside NJ (1965 here).

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

All 114 Good 32 Fair 79 Poor 3

Good-condition bridges (32)

CR620 (KINGS HWAY)

Good

Over: MANNINGTON CREEK

1.6 MILES NE OF NJ 45, Salem, NJ

Built 2010 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 862

GERSHEL AVENUE

Good

Over: MUDDY RUN

2.3 MI WEST OF NJ 55, Salem, NJ

Built 2022 Load: 28.8 t ADT: 1,975

ELMER-PALANTINE RD

Good

Over: PALANTINE BR. MUDDY RUN

2.1 MI SE US 40 IN ELMER, Salem, NJ

Built 2013 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 1,296

NJ 49

Good

Over: ALLOWAY CREEK

3.4MI SE OF NJ49&NJ45 JCT, Salem, NJ

Built 2005 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 6,723

CR 625

Good

Over: SECOND HOPE DITCH

1 MI SOUTH OF NJ 49, Salem, NJ

Built 1988 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 1,704

NJ 48

Good

Over: NJ TURNPIKE

2.5 MI NORTH OF EXIT 1, Salem, NJ

Built 2005 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 3,549

CR 677

Good

Over: PALATINE BRANCH

PITTSGROVE TOWNSHIP, Salem, NJ

Built 2013 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 1,046

NJ ROUTE 48

Good

Over: BR OF GAME CREEK

0.19 MI E OF CR 551, Salem, NJ

Built 2007 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 5,386

NJ 45 (MARKET ST)

Good

Over: FENWICK CREEK

0.4 MI NORTH OF NJ 49, Salem, NJ

Built 1999 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 10,533

CR 642

Good

Over: OLDMANS CREEK

1.6 MILES EAST OF US 130, Salem, NJ

Built 2010 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 2,081

FRIENDSHIP-CHURCH

Good

Over: MUDDY RUN

1 MI.N.OF US 40, Salem, NJ

Built 2018 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 209

NJ 48

Good

Over: TWO PENNY RUN

0.25 MI W OF NJ TURNPIKE, Salem, NJ

Built 2017 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 4,167

NJ 48

Good

Over: BRANCH OF GAME CREEK

0.85 MILE EAST OF I-295, Salem, NJ

Built 2007 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 5,386

CR 658

Good

Over: UPPER BRANCH

4.6 MI SOUTH OF NJ 49, Salem, NJ

Built 1991 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 865

NJ 56

Good

Over: RAINBOW LAKE

2.17 MI W OF NJ 55 JCT, Salem, NJ

Built 2007 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 12,529

WITT ROAD

Good

Over: ALLOWAYS CREEK

2 Mi. North of CR 581, Salem, NJ

Built 2001 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 281

NJ Route 56

Good

Over: MAURICE RIVER

0.22 MI WEST OF NJ RT 55, Salem, NJ

Built 2007 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 12,108

US Route 40

Good

Over: ELMER LAKE

5.25 MI W OF RT 55 JCT, Salem, NJ

Built 2008 Load: 47.3 t ADT: 12,209

NJ 45

Good

Over: MANNINGTON CREEK

0.14 MI N.OF JCT CR653, Salem, NJ

Built 1996 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 5,397

CR 628

Good

Over: GAME CREEK

0.5 MI S.W.OF NJ 48, Salem, NJ

Built 1986 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 741

CR 646

Good

Over: SALEM CREEK

PILESGROVE-1 MI SO US 40, Salem, NJ

Built 2005 Load: 57.2 t ADT: 1,061

LINCOLN ROAD

Good

Over: OLDMANS CREEK

1.5 MI NW CR581 & CR660, Salem, NJ

Built 1998 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 627

CR 609

Good

Over: BRANCH OF MUDDY RUN

1 MI NORTH OF US 40, Salem, NJ

Built 1990 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 1,255

CR 581

Good

Over: ALLOWAYS CREEK

5.3 MI. S. OF US 40, Salem, NJ

Built 2004 Load: 59.3 t ADT: 1,418

STOCKINGTOWN ROAD

Good

Over: ALLOWAYS CREEK

4 MILES SW OF US 40, Salem, NJ

Built 1976 Load: 62.6 t ADT: 214

CR 623 (Main St.)

Good

Over: CANTON DRAIN

6 MI S OF NJ 49, Salem, NJ

Built 2008 Load: 68.9 t ADT: 826

US 40

Good

Over: SALEM RIVER

1.45 MI WEST OF NJ 45 JCT, Salem, NJ

Built 2000 Load: 68.9 t ADT: 12,873

EAST LAKE ROAD

Good

Over: SALEM CREEK

0.4 MILE SOUTH OF US 40, Salem, NJ

Built 2012 Load: 71.9 t ADT: 1,056

NJ 45

Good

Over: CULLIERS RUN

1.47 Mile South of CR 669, Salem, NJ

Built 1994 Load: 83.5 t ADT: 5,930

CR 658

Good

Over: LONG BRANCH CREEK

2.3 MI E OF NJ 49, Salem, NJ

Built 2006 Load: 87.2 t ADT: 2,585

CR 540

Good

Over: DEEP RUN

3.9 MI. NORTH OF NJ 49, Salem, NJ

Built 2013 Load: 96.9 t ADT: 2,199

NJ RTE 49

Good

Over: SALEM RIVER

8.3 MI SOUTH OF NJTPK, Salem, NJ

Built 2005 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 11,966

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.