County profile · official public datasets

Dare County, NC

40 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 47.5% rated Good, 42.5% Fair, 10% Poor.

40
Public bridges
47.5%
Good condition
10%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Dare 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.

80th
of 100 on Poor share
10%
Poor-condition share
40
public highway bridges
2000
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.

Dare County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Dare County ranks #80 of 100 North Carolina counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 10%). Dare County, North Carolina contains 40 public highway bridges. Roughly 47.5% are rated “Good,” 42.5% “Fair,” and 10% “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

40

Public highway bridges in Dare County

Good condition

47.5%

19 of 40 rated 7-9

Fair condition

42.5%

17 of 40 rated 5-6

Poor condition

10%

4 of 40 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#80 of 100

Among North Carolina counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better

Condition distribution

Share of 40 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
47.5% (19)
Fair
42.5% (17)
Poor
10% (4)

Dare County's Poor-condition bridges carry 6,225 vehicle crossings a day

That is 3.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 10% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,556 crossings a day against 2,912 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 40 of 40 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

12.5% of Dare County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

5 of the 40 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 47.5% 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 53% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

NC12 over THE SLASH, built 1956, carries 3,300 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 4-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 6,225 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Dare County's bridges were built

40 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2010s, when 14 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 35% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 5 to 14 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 2000, 14 years newer than the North Carolina average of 1986.

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

How Dare County compares with North Carolina's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 North Carolina counties nearest Dare County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 10% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 2000 against a peer-group mean of 1991 is 9 years newer.

Showing the 5 closest of 99 North Carolina counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Dare County and the 5 North Carolina counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Pamlico County 45 17.8%
Gates County 41 2.4%
Dare County (this page) 40 10%
Perquimans County 39 2.6%
Chowan County 38 2.6%
Camden County 28 10.7%

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 Dare 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 Dare County, both outside North Carolina so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NC (40 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside NC (2000 here).

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

All 40 Good 19 Fair 17 Poor 4

All bridges (40)

COVERED BRIDGE RD

Fair

Over: JEAN GUITE CREEK

0.5 MI. W. JCT. SR1206, Dare, NC

Built 1988 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 100

COVERED BRIDGE RD.

Fair

Over: CREEK

0.25 MI. W. JCT. SR1206, Dare, NC

Built 2015 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 100

NC12FERRY

Fair

Over: HATTERAS INLET

S.END NC12, Dare, NC

Built 1991 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 4,300

NC12 FERRY

Fair

Over: HATTERAS INLET

S.END NC12, Dare, NC

Built 1991 Load: 19.9 t ADT: 4,300

NC12 FERRY

Fair

Over: HATTERAS INLET

S.END NC12, Dare, NC

Built 1991 Load: 21.7 t ADT: 2,200

E.DOGWOOD TRAIL

Fair

Over: GREAT BLUE HERON CANAL

0.1 MI.E.JCT.S.DOGWOOD TR, Dare, NC

Built 1990 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 200

US64

Fair

Over: POND ISLAND

2.7 MI.E. OF NC345, Dare, NC

Built 1994 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 21,000

S.DOGWOOD TRAIL

Fair

Over: PELICAN CANAL

.5 MI.N.JCT.YAUPON TR., Dare, NC

Built 1997 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 500

SR1164

Fair

Over: PAMLICO SOUND

0.2 MI. S. JCT. NC64, Dare, NC

Built 2000 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 50

SR1492 FERRY RAMP

Fair

Over: PAMLICO SOUND

0.1 MI. N. JCT. HWY12, Dare, NC

Built 2001 Load: 34.4 t ADT: 50

SR1217

Fair

Over: CR OFF KITTY HAWK BAY

0.3 MI E. OF JCT SR1219, Dare, NC

Built 1994 Load: 36.2 t ADT: 12,000

US158

Fair

Over: JEAN GUITE CREEK

0.3 MI.W. JCT. SR1206, Dare, NC

Built 1966 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 27,000

US64

Fair

Over: ROANOKE SOUND

1.2 MI. E. JCT. US64 BUS, Dare, NC

Built 1990 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 21,000

NC12

Fair

Over: CREEK OFF THE SLASH

.08 MI.N. OF JCT.SR1241, Dare, NC

Built 2004 Load: 48.0 t ADT: 2,200

NC400

Fair

Over: DOUGHS CREEK

0.4 MI.E.JCT.US64, Dare, NC

Built 1983 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 720

SR1141

Fair

Over: CREEK

0.1 MI.S.JCT.SR1142, Dare, NC

Built 2014 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 320

US64

Fair

Over: CANAL

.02 MI W JCT US264, Dare, NC

Built 1970 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 4,600

NAVY SHELL ROAD

Good

Over: UNNAMED CHANNEL

3.0 MILES WEST OF US 264, Dare, NC

Built 2015 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 20

MILLTAIL ROAD

Good

Over: MILLTAIL CREEK

9 MI SW OF MANNS HARBOR, Dare, NC

Built 2003 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 75

NAVY ROAD

Good

Over: MAN MADE CANALS

10 MI SW OF MANNS HARBOR, Dare, NC

Built 2003 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 60

US264

Good

Over: PAINS BAY CANAL

9.6 MI. W. JCT. SR1100, Dare, NC

Built 2016 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 500

US264

Good

Over: STUMPY POINT BAY CNL.

0.5 MI.W. OF JCT.SR1100, Dare, NC

Built 2016 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 400

US264

Good

Over: CANAL

5.3 MI.E. JCT. SR1100, Dare, NC

Built 2016 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 980

SR1217

Good

Over: COLINGTON CREEK

1.3 MI.E. OF JCT.SR1219, Dare, NC

Built 1994 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 12,000

US264

Good

Over: DEEP CREEK

11.2 MI. W. JCT. SR1164, Dare, NC

Built 2016 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 600

NC12

Good

Over: CREEK

0.15MI.S.JCT.SR1400, Dare, NC

Built 2014 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 7,400

SR1216

Good

Over: CREEK

0.3 MI S. OF JCT SR1206, Dare, NC

Built 2006 Load: 45.3 t ADT: 290

NC12

Good

Over: OREGON INLET

10 MI. S. JCT. US158, Dare, NC

Built 2019 Load: 45.3 t ADT: 5,900

US64&264

Good

Over: SPENCERS CREEK

0.8 MI.E. JCT.US264, Dare, NC

Built 2001 Load: 46.2 t ADT: 4,600

US264

Good

Over: STUMPY POINT BAY

0.4 MI W. JCT. SR1100, Dare, NC

Built 2016 Load: 46.2 t ADT: 500

NC12

Good

Over: NEW INLET

13 MI. S. JCT. SR1243, Dare, NC

Built 2018 Load: 46.2 t ADT: 5,900

NC12

Good

Over: PAMLICO SOUND

24 MI S JCT US158, Dare, NC

Built 2021 Load: 48.9 t ADT: 5,600

S.DOGWOOD TRAIL

Good

Over: SNOW GOOSE CANAL

0.1 MI. N.JCT. FAIRWAY DR, Dare, NC

Built 2015 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 3,200

US64 US264BYP

Good

Over: CROATAN SOUND

0.10 MI. E. JCT. SR1105, Dare, NC

Built 2002 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 5,500

SR1123

Good

Over: CANAL

1.3 MI S JCT 1124, Dare, NC

Built 2015 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 610

SR1208

Good

Over: JEAN GUITE CREEK

0.03 MI.W. JCT.SR1207, Dare, NC

Built 2019 Load: 55.3 t ADT: 1,200

DRY RIDGE ROAD

Poor

Over: WHIPPING CREEK

2.9 MI W US 264, Dare, NC

Built 1965 Load: 14.5 t ADT: 5

US64

Poor

Over: CROATAN SOUND

1.6 MI. E. JCT. SR1113, Dare, NC

Built 1955 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 2,400

NC12

Poor

Over: THE SLASH

0.1MI S. JCT SR 1248, Dare, NC

Built 1956 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 3,300

SR1164

Poor

Over: CANAL

AT JCT.US264, Dare, NC

Built 2002 Load: 48.0 t ADT: 520

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.