Total bridges
182
Public highway bridges in Sandoval County
County profile · official public datasets
Sandoval County, NM
182 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 40.7% rated Good, 54.4% Fair, 4.9% Poor.
- 182
- Public bridges
- 40.7%
- Good condition
- 4.9%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Sandoval County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.
- 20th
- of 32 on Poor share
- 4.9%
- Poor-condition share
- 182
- public highway bridges
- 1979
- 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.
Sandoval County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Sandoval County ranks #20 of 32 New Mexico counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4.9%). Sandoval County, New Mexico contains 182 public highway bridges. Roughly 40.7% are rated “Good,” 54.4% “Fair,” and 4.9% “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
40.7%
74 of 182 rated 7-9
Fair condition
54.4%
99 of 182 rated 5-6
Poor condition
4.9%
9 of 182 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#20 of 32
Among New Mexico counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 182 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 40.7% (74)
Fair 54.4% (99)
Poor 4.9% (9)
Sandoval County's Poor-condition bridges carry 14,923 vehicle crossings a day
That is 0.9% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4.9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,658 crossings a day against 5,718 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 182 of 182 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
39.6% of Sandoval County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
72 of the 182 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 40.7% 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 48.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
NM-313 over Las Huertas Creek, built 1975, carries 7,203 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 9-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 14,923 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Sandoval County's bridges were built
182 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1930s
1930–1939
17 bridges
- 1940s 4
1940–1949
4 bridges
- 1950s 13
1950–1959
13 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
19 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
33 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
40 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
16 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
22 bridges
- 2010s 15
2010–2019
15 bridges
- 2020s 3
2020–2029
3 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 40 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 22% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1979, 6 years newer than the New Mexico average of 1973.
How Sandoval County compares with New Mexico's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 New Mexico counties nearest Sandoval County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4.9% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1979 against a peer-group mean of 1970 is 9 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 31 New Mexico counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socorro County | 188 | 16.5% | 76.1% | 7.4% | 1961 |
| Sandoval County (this page) | 182 | 40.7% | 54.4% | 4.9% | 1979 |
| San Miguel County | 175 | 41.1% | 50.9% | 8% | 1972 |
| San Juan County | 174 | 36.8% | 56.9% | 6.3% | 1977 |
| Rio Arriba County | 160 | 47.5% | 46.3% | 6.3% | 1973 |
| Colfax County | 140 | 37.9% | 57.1% | 5% | 1969 |
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 Sandoval 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 Sandoval County, both outside New Mexico so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside NM (182 bridges here).
- Logan County, CO · 182 bridges
- Ida County, IA · 182 bridges
- Wright County, IA · 182 bridges
- Pulaski County, KY · 182 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside NM (1979 here).
- Pima County, AZ · avg 1979 · 1,150 bridges
- Jefferson County, KY · avg 1979 · 662 bridges
- Spartanburg County, SC · avg 1979 · 638 bridges
- McPherson County, KS · avg 1979 · 586 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
All bridges (182)
SP85
GoodOver: UNNAMED WASH
3.0 KM NW SANTO DOMINGO, Sandoval, NM
Built 2014 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 200
US-550
GoodOver: Rio Penasco
6.0 Mi NW of Jct. NM 4, Sandoval, NM
Built 2001 Load: 33.1 t ADT: 5,243
US-550
GoodOver: RIO PUERCO
9.7 miles s of NM 197, Sandoval, NM
Built 2001 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 4,964
US-550
GoodOver: ARROYO OJITO
17.8 MI NW OF JCT I-25, Sandoval, NM
Built 1975 Load: 33.8 t ADT: 11,237
US-550
GoodOver: RIO SALADO
22.7 MI N JCT I-25 US 550, Sandoval, NM
Built 1979 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 9,054
US-550
GoodOver: Cuchilla Arroyo
8.0 Mi NW of Jct NM 4, Sandoval, NM
Built 2001 Load: 34.8 t ADT: 5,243
NM-126
GoodOver: CLEAR CREEK
11.1 Mi. E. Jct. US 550/N, Sandoval, NM
Built 2003 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 50
NM-347
GoodOver: Future Roadway
1.0 M N Jct US-550, Sandoval, NM
Built 2014 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 9,522
NM-347
GoodOver: Encantado Channel
0.1 M S Jct US-550/NM-347, Sandoval, NM
Built 2014 Load: 38.0 t ADT: 9,522
US-550
GoodOver: Rio Grande River
1.4 M N Jct I-25/US-550, Sandoval, NM
Built 2019 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 536
FDR 20
GoodOver: RIO LAS VACAS
3 MI S/O NM 126, Sandoval, NM
Built 1986 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 80
43-4301
GoodOver: NM-347
1.1 M W Jct NM-528, Sandoval, NM
Built 2014 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 11,200
NM-313
GoodOver: Maria Chavez
14.9 Mi N of US-550, Sandoval, NM
Built 2011 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 2,618
NM-197
GoodOver: CHIJUILLA ARROYO
6.5 mi. w. of jct. US 550, Sandoval, NM
Built 2000 Load: 41.6 t ADT: 1,092
NM-22
GoodOver: Santa Fe River Canyon
9.66 M W Jct I-25/ NM22, Sandoval, NM
Built 1999 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 1,511
NM-126
GoodOver: Rito LasPalomas
13.05 E of US-550, Sandoval, NM
Built 2022 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 54
43-Z009
GoodOver: RITO LECHE
0.1 MI N NM-197 IN CUBA, Sandoval, NM
Built 2021 Load: 45.7 t ADT: 81
43-4301
GoodOver: NM-347
1.1 M W Jct NM-528, Sandoval, NM
Built 2014 Load: 47.5 t ADT: 11,200
BIA ROUTE 85
GoodOver: PERALTA WASH
S COCHITI PUEBLO, Sandoval, NM
Built 2016 Load: 48.6 t ADT: 284
NM-4
GoodOver: Church Canyon
18.0 M North JCT US-550, Sandoval, NM
Built 2016 Load: 49.0 t ADT: 5,056
COCHITI HIGHWAY
GoodOver: WASH
2.5KM NW OF COCHITI LAKE, Sandoval, NM
Built 2014 Load: 53.2 t ADT: 100
FDR 266
GoodOver: PALIZA CREEK
.34 MI N/O PALIZA FAM CG, Sandoval, NM
Built 1999 Load: 67.1 t ADT: 150
FDR 10
GoodOver: PALIZA CREEK
.23 MI SW/O PALIZA FAM CG, Sandoval, NM
Built 1956 Load: 67.4 t ADT: 200
NM-165
PoorOver: LAS HUERTAS CREEK
9.6 MI E Jct I-25/NM-165, Sandoval, NM
Built 1935 Load: 5.4 t ADT: 78
NM-165
PoorOver: LAS HUERTAS CREEK
11.9 M E Jct I-25/NM-165, Sandoval, NM
Built 1935 Load: 5.4 t ADT: 78
43-Z001
PoorOver: Bernalillo Main Canal
0.3 MI W OF JCT NM-313, Sandoval, NM
Built 1985 Load: 16.2 t ADT: 91
NM-313
PoorOver: Las Huertas Creek
4.7 Mi N of Jct US-550, Sandoval, NM
Built 1975 Load: 27.5 t ADT: 7,203
IRR BIA RTE 82
PoorOver: JEMEZ RIVER
0.8 KM W OF JEMEZ PUEBLO, Sandoval, NM
Built 1963 Load: 27.5 t ADT: 100
NM-22
PoorOver: NMRX
4.0 MI NW OF I-25/NM-22, Sandoval, NM
Built 1963 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,826
IRR BIA RTE 78
PoorOver: JEMEZ RIVER
AT ZIA PUEBLO, Sandoval, NM
Built 1979 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 600
US-550
PoorOver: RIO PUERCO
0.2 MI N OF JCT NM-126, Sandoval, NM
Built 1970 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 4,841
43-0011
PoorOver: NACIMIENTO CREEK
.05 MI E OF JCT US550/197, Sandoval, NM
Built 1932 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 106
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.