Total bridges
132
Public highway bridges in Otero County
County profile · official public datasets
Otero County, NM
132 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 38.6% rated Good, 61.4% Fair, 0% Poor.
- 132
- Public bridges
- 38.6%
- Good condition
- 0%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Otero County posts a top-5% lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- Top 3%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 0%
- Poor-condition share
- 132
- public highway bridges
- 1976
- 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.
Otero County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Otero County ranks #1 of 32 New Mexico counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 0%). Otero County, New Mexico contains 132 public highway bridges. Roughly 38.6% are rated “Good,” 61.4% “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.
Good condition
38.6%
51 of 132 rated 7-9
Fair condition
61.4%
81 of 132 rated 5-6
Poor condition
0%
0 of 132 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#1 of 32
Among New Mexico counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 132 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 38.6% (51)
Fair 61.4% (81)
Poor 0% (0)
40.9% of Otero County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
54 of the 132 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 38.6% 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.
When Otero County's bridges were built
132 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1930s
1930–1939
19 bridges
- 1940s 9
1940–1949
9 bridges
- 1950s 8
1950–1959
8 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
13 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
28 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
15 bridges
- 1990s 2
1990–1999
2 bridges
- 2000s 10
2000–2009
10 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
27 bridges
- 2020s 1
2020–2029
1 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 28 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1976) matches the New Mexico average (1973).
How Otero County compares with New Mexico's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 New Mexico counties nearest Otero 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 1976 against a peer-group mean of 1971 is 5 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 (this page) | 132 | 38.6% | 61.4% | 0% | 1976 |
| Lincoln County | 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 Otero 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 Otero County, both outside New Mexico so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside NM (132 bridges here).
- Kendall County, IL · 132 bridges
- Massac County, IL · 132 bridges
- Monroe County, IL · 132 bridges
- St. Joseph County, MI · 132 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside NM (1976 here).
- Marion County, IN · avg 1976 · 958 bridges
- Mohave County, AZ · avg 1976 · 641 bridges
- Comanche County, OK · avg 1976 · 593 bridges
- Prince George's County, MD · avg 1976 · 576 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (81)
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
1.81 MI S OF US70/ALAMOGO, Otero, NM
Built 1975 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 13,335
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.41 MI S OF US70/ALAMOGO, Otero, NM
Built 1976 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 13,335
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
4.08 MI S OF US70/ALAMOGO, Otero, NM
Built 1976 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 13,335
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
5.29 MI S OF US70/ALAMOGO, Otero, NM
Built 1976 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 13,335
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
4.57 MI S OF US70/ALAMOGO, Otero, NM
Built 1976 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 13,335
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.8 MI N OF US-70/TULAROS, Otero, NM
Built 1977 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
2.9 MI N OF US-70/TULAROS, Otero, NM
Built 1977 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
3.4 MI N OF US-70/TULAROS, Otero, NM
Built 1977 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
3.7 MI N OF US-70/TULAROS, Otero, NM
Built 1977 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
3.9 MI N OF US-70/TULAROS, Otero, NM
Built 1977 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
US-54
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
5.3 MI N OF US-70/TULAROS, Otero, NM
Built 1977 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 2,708
FL-5902
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
200 E OF SCENIC DRIVE, Otero, NM
Built 1976 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 216
35-0703
FairOver: US-70
AT Jct US-70/Holloman AFB, Otero, NM
Built 1980 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 240
35-A060
FairOver: LA LUZ CANYON
2.0 MI E OF LA LUZ NM, Otero, NM
Built 1982 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 225
NM-24
FairOver: PENASCO CREEK
JCT NM 24/NM-130 SW MAHIL, Otero, NM
Built 1984 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 305
IRR/US-70
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
20.74 M NE JCT US54/TULAR, Otero, NM
Built 1987 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,164
35-A059
FairOver: LA LUZ CANYON
0.5 M N JCT NM-545/LA LUZ, Otero, NM
Built 1985 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 245
US-70
FairOver: SNOW CANYON
4.67 M S JCT US-70&NM-48, Otero, NM
Built 1940 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,815
US-70 EBL & WBL
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
3.9 M SW JCT NM-48, Otero, NM
Built 2004 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,815
US-70 EBL &WBL
FairOver: BILL CANYON
2.6 M SW JCT NM-48, Otero, NM
Built 2005 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,815
FL-4919
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
0.2 MI. N OF JCT 1ST/WASH, Otero, NM
Built 1970 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 950
FL-4903
FairOver: UNKNOWN WATERWAY
Tenth street, Otero, NM
Built 1960 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 6,391
US-54 NBL/SBL
FairOver: UNNAMED WATERWAY
3.6 MI S JCT US-70, Otero, NM
Built 2002 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 13,335
FL-4920
FairOver: McKINLEY DITCH
200 n OF FK5902, Otero, NM
Built 1970 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 7,102
US-54
FairOver: SOUTH DIVERSION CHANNEL
4.4 M S. JCT US 70/54, Otero, NM
Built 2002 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 12,497
35-Z000
FairOver: Unkown Waterway
.2 Mi. E. of US-70 Panora, Otero, NM
Built 2012 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,442
49ER AVE
FairOver: DRAINAGE DITCH
1.3 MI WEST OF MESQUITE R, Otero, NM
Built 1970 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,000
WSMR S RT 252
FairOver: STORM DRAINAGE
1.4 KM S OF RR252B05, Otero, NM
Built 2015 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 50
NM-130
FairOver: JAMES CANYON
0.01 M SW JCT US82/MAYHIL, Otero, NM
Built 1969 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 233
US-54/70 NBL
FairOver: Union Pacific Railroad
0.36 M E of US70/Alamogor, Otero, NM
Built 1975 Load: 34.8 t ADT: 23,111
35-B018
FairOver: TULAROSA CREEK
0.3 N OF US-70/BOOKOUT RD, Otero, NM
Built 1983 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 225
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.