Total bridges
131
Public highway bridges in Lincoln County
County profile · official public datasets
Lincoln County, NM
131 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 37.4% rated Good, 61.1% Fair, 1.5% Poor.
- 131
- Public bridges
- 37.4%
- Good condition
- 1.5%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Lincoln County posts a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- Top 28%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 1.5%
- Poor-condition share
- 131
- 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.
Lincoln County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Lincoln County ranks #9 of 32 New Mexico counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 1.5%). Lincoln County, New Mexico contains 131 public highway bridges. Roughly 37.4% are rated “Good,” 61.1% “Fair,” and 1.5% “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.
Good condition
37.4%
49 of 131 rated 7-9
Fair condition
61.1%
80 of 131 rated 5-6
Poor condition
1.5%
2 of 131 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#9 of 32
Among New Mexico counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 131 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 37.4% (49)
Fair 61.1% (80)
Poor 1.5% (2)
Lincoln County's Poor-condition bridges carry 467 vehicle crossings a day
That is 0.2% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 1.5% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 234 crossings a day against 2,566 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 131 of 131 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
46.6% of Lincoln County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
61 of the 131 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 37.4% 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 67.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
27-Z003 over RIO RUIDOSO, built 1960, carries 316 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 2-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 467 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Lincoln County's bridges were built
131 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1930s
1930–1939
20 bridges
- 1940s
1940–1949
15 bridges
- 1950s 10
1950–1959
10 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
13 bridges
- 1970s 7
1970–1979
7 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
16 bridges
- 1990s 6
1990–1999
6 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
15 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
27 bridges
- 2020s 2
2020–2029
2 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 2010s, when 27 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.6% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 5 to 14 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1977) matches the New Mexico average (1973).
How Lincoln County compares with New Mexico's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 New Mexico counties nearest Lincoln County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 1.5% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1977 against a peer-group mean of 1971 is 6 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 31 New Mexico counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colfax County | 140 | 37.9% | 57.1% | 5% | 1969 |
| Otero County | 132 | 38.6% | 61.4% | 0% | 1976 |
| Lincoln County (this page) | 131 | 37.4% | 61.1% | 1.5% | 1977 |
| Cibola County | 127 | 49.6% | 40.2% | 10.2% | 1971 |
| Chaves County | 120 | 33.3% | 64.2% | 2.5% | 1970 |
| Quay County | 118 | 34.7% | 58.5% | 6.8% | 1968 |
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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, both outside New Mexico so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside NM (131 bridges here).
- Columbia County, AR · 131 bridges
- Laurel County, KY · 131 bridges
- Franklin County, LA · 131 bridges
- Wright County, MO · 131 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside NM (1977 here).
- San Diego County, CA · avg 1977 · 1,632 bridges
- King County, WA · avg 1977 · 1,238 bridges
- Riverside County, CA · avg 1977 · 1,117 bridges
- Shelby County, TN · avg 1977 · 1,077 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (80)
27-Z003
FairOver: RIO RUIDOSO
0.1 MI S OF MAIN ROAD, Lincoln, NM
Built 1970 Load: 11.9 t ADT: 315
FDR 107C
FairOver: RIO BONITO
47 YD S/O FSR 107, Lincoln, NM
Built 1964 Load: 14.3 t ADT: 75
27-B009
FairOver: RUIDOSO RIVER
0.3 MI W OF US-70 @MP-274, Lincoln, NM
Built 1965 Load: 16.2 t ADT: 325
27-Z010
FairOver: RIO RUIDOSO
EAST END OF N. LOOP DR., Lincoln, NM
Built 1965 Load: 16.2 t ADT: 325
FDR 72
FairOver: ANCHO GULCH
7.3 MI SE/O A036 JTC, Lincoln, NM
Built 1958 Load: 16.8 t ADT: 100
27-Z004
FairOver: RIO RUIDOSO
.1 miles NW of main road, Lincoln, NM
Built 1979 Load: 19.4 t ADT: 325
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
15.8 MI S OF US-389/CARRI, Lincoln, NM
Built 1939 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 2,708
FL-5976
FairOver: RIO RUIDOSO
0.4 MI NW O JCT NM-48, Lincoln, NM
Built 1959 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 863
27-Z007
FairOver: RIO RUIDOSO
200 N OF JCT MAIN RO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1979 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 325
US-380
FairOver: Union Pacific Railroad
0.1 M E Jct US54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1987 Load: 23.5 t ADT: 2,112
US-70/380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
0.8 M E JCT US-380/HONDO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1938 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 4,502
US-70/380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
8.0 M E JCT US-380/HONDO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1938 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 3,595
US-70/380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
10.2 M E JCT US-380/HONDO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1938 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 3,595
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
5.1 MI E OF NM-48/CAPITAN, Lincoln, NM
Built 1935 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 866
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
15.3 MI E NM-48/CAPITAN, Lincoln, NM
Built 1941 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 866
US-70/380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
5.2 MI E JCT US-70/380, Lincoln, NM
Built 1937 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 3,595
US-70
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
5.6 MI E OF JCT US-380, Lincoln, NM
Built 1937 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 3,595
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
21.3 M E OF NM-48/CAPTIAN, Lincoln, NM
Built 1939 Load: 27.5 t ADT: 866
US-70/380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.9 M E JCT US-380/HONDO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1937 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 3,765
US-70/380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
23.0 M E JCT US-380/HONDO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1959 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 3,595
US-70/380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
15.4 M E JCT US-380/HONDO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1938 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 3,595
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
7.4 MI E OF US-54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,112
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
7.19 M E JCT US54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,112
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
6.95 M E JCT US54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,112
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
4.75 M E JCT US54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,112
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
3.3 MI E OF US-54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,112
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.8 MI E OF US-54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,112
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.6 MI E OF US-54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,112
US-380
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.1 MI E OF US-54/CARRIZO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,112
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.6 MI S OF US-380/CARRIZ, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
3.4 MI S OF US-380/CARRIZ, Lincoln, NM
Built 1947 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
16.3 MI S OF US-380/CARRI, Lincoln, NM
Built 1948 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
0.7 MI N OF NM-55, Lincoln, NM
Built 1952 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,091
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
8.9 MI N OF NM-55, Lincoln, NM
Built 1953 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,540
US-54
FairOver: CLOUD CANYON
9.4 MI S OF NM-42/CORONA, Lincoln, NM
Built 1953 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,540
US-70
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
AT JUNCTION US-70/NM-48, Lincoln, NM
Built 1957 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 4,781
US-70
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
0.6 MI E OF JCT NM-48, Lincoln, NM
Built 1957 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 4,781
NM-48
FairOver: CARRIZO CREEK
1.6 M NW OF US-70/RUIDOSO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1960 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 12,543
NM-48
FairOver: RUIDOSO RIVER
3.5 MI N OF US-70/RUIDOSO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1960 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 10,494
US-70
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
4.6 MI W JCT US-380/HONDO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1968 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 3,609
NM-37
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
9.7 MI N OF NM-48 @ ANGUS, Lincoln, NM
Built 1969 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,727
NM-37
FairOver: NOGAL CANYON
10.04 MI N OF NM-48/ANGUS, Lincoln, NM
Built 1969 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,727
US-70
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
12.5 MI W OF US-380/HONDO, Lincoln, NM
Built 1972 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 4,781
NM-37
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
12.3 MI N OF NM-48/ANGUS, Lincoln, NM
Built 1978 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,727
NM-37
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.64 MI N OF NM-48/ANGUS, Lincoln, NM
Built 1980 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,727
NM-37
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
4.66 MI N OF NM-48/ANGUS, Lincoln, NM
Built 1980 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,727
NM-37
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
4.07 M N JCT NM-48/ANGUS, Lincoln, NM
Built 1980 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,727
NM-37
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
3.62 M N JCT NM-48/ANGUS, Lincoln, NM
Built 1980 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,727
27-E008
FairOver: RUIDOSO RIVER
3.82 MI E OF US70 @MP-278, Lincoln, NM
Built 1980 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 325
27-E010
FairOver: RIO RUIDOSO
4.51 M W US-70/380, Lincoln, NM
Built 1980 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 325
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
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.