County profile · official public datasets

Forsyth County, NC

454 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 41.2% rated Good, 49.8% Fair, 9% Poor.

454
Public bridges
41.2%
Good condition
9%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Forsyth County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

74th
of 100 on Poor share
9%
Poor-condition share
454
public highway bridges
1985
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.

Forsyth County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Forsyth County ranks #74 of 100 North Carolina counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 9%). Forsyth County, North Carolina contains 454 public highway bridges. Roughly 41.2% are rated “Good,” 49.8% “Fair,” and 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.

Total bridges

454

Public highway bridges in Forsyth County

Good condition

41.2%

187 of 454 rated 7-9

Fair condition

49.8%

226 of 454 rated 5-6

Poor condition

9%

41 of 454 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#74 of 100

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

Condition distribution

Share of 454 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
41.2% (187)
Fair
49.8% (226)
Poor
9% (41)

Forsyth County's Poor-condition bridges carry 741,550 vehicle crossings a day

That is 9.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 18,087 crossings a day against 12,811 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 454 of 454 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

35.9% of Forsyth County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

163 of the 454 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 41.2% 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 10.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US52 over 25TH STREET, built 1964, carries 79,000 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 41-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 741,550 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Forsyth County's bridges were built

454 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 85 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 18.7% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1985) matches the North Carolina average (1986).

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

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

The 5 North Carolina counties nearest Forsyth County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 9% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1985 against a peer-group mean of 1986 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Forsyth County and the 5 North Carolina counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Buncombe County 555 7%
Forsyth County (this page) 454 9%
Randolph County 401 1.5%
Union County 353 4.2%
Wilkes County 349 14.6%
Cumberland County 348 0.9%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NC (454 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside NC (1985 here).

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

All 454 Good 187 Fair 226 Poor 41

Good-condition bridges (187)

NC 74

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

0.5 MI. S. JCT. SR2211, Forsyth, NC

Built 2022 Load: 58.9 t ADT: 34,000

US52 US311&NC8

Good

Over: SALEM CREEK & GREENWAY

0.6 MI. S. JCT. I40 BUS, Forsyth, NC

Built 2017 Load: 59.8 t ADT: 65,500

US158

Good

Over: I40

0.2 MI.N.JCT.SR3153, Forsyth, NC

Built 1990 Load: 59.8 t ADT: 36,000

SR1639

Good

Over: WEST FORK MUDDY CREEK

0.1 MI. W. JCT. SR1893, Forsyth, NC

Built 2017 Load: 60.7 t ADT: 1,300

SR4315

Good

Over: W.S.S.B. RR

50 FT. W. JCT. US52, Forsyth, NC

Built 2001 Load: 60.7 t ADT: 11,000

SR2216 (DAVIS ROAD

Good

Over: NC 74

0.5 MI. N. JCT SR2256, Forsyth, NC

Built 2022 Load: 60.7 t ADT: 1,100

US52 NBL

Good

Over: DIRT

0.6 MI. N. JCT. SR1669, Forsyth, NC

Built 2023 Load: 60.7 t ADT: 22,250

SR1100

Good

Over: BLANKET CREEK

1.2 MI. E. JCT. SR1891, Forsyth, NC

Built 2020 Load: 61.6 t ADT: 1,300

SR2703

Good

Over: SOUTH FORK MUDDY CREEK

0.4 MI. S. JCT. SR2705, Forsyth, NC

Built 1997 Load: 61.6 t ADT: 200

SR1122

Good

Over: US421

0.75 MI. W. JCT. I40, Forsyth, NC

Built 1992 Load: 61.6 t ADT: 19,000

US52 NBL

Good

Over: FUTURE I-74

0.9 MI. N. JCT. SR1669, Forsyth, NC

Built 2023 Load: 61.6 t ADT: 25,000

US 52NBL

Good

Over: DIRT

0.7 MI. N. JCT. SR1669, Forsyth, NC

Built 2023 Load: 61.6 t ADT: 61,700

SR2601

Good

Over: SR1005

.2 MI N I-40 BUSINESS, Forsyth, NC

Built 2014 Load: 62.5 t ADT: 5,000

US52 NBL

Good

Over: NORKFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWA

0.3 MI. N. JCT. SR1669, Forsyth, NC

Built 2023 Load: 63.5 t ADT: 22,250

NC8

Good

Over: ROUGH FORK CREEK

0.2 MI. N. JCT. SR1920, Forsyth, NC

Built 1983 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 5,800

SR4315

Good

Over: I-40 BUS.I-40 BUS./US 4

0.75 MI. S. JCT. SR2516, Forsyth, NC

Built 2020 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 1,600

SR1672

Good

Over: GRASSY CREEK

1.3 MI. W. JCT. US52, Forsyth, NC

Built 1995 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 11,000

SR2700

Good

Over: SOUTH FORK MUDDY CREEK

0.4 MI.N.JCT.NC109, Forsyth, NC

Built 1999 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 2,200

BROAD STREET

Good

Over: US421

0.6 MI. S. JCT NC67, Forsyth, NC

Built 2019 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 14,000

NOVACK ST.

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

.09 MI.S.KIVITT COURT, Forsyth, NC

Built 2021 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 100

SOUTH MAIN STREET

Good

Over: I40

0.5 MI. S. JCT. US52, Forsyth, NC

Built 1992 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 8,500

SR1891

Good

Over: US421

2.87 MI.N.JCT.SR1103, Forsyth, NC

Built 2019 Load: 67.1 t ADT: 19,500

SR2264

Good

Over: NORFOLK SOUTHERN RR

0.1 MI. W. JCT. SR2456, Forsyth, NC

Built 2021 Load: 67.1 t ADT: 5,700

US 52

Good

Over: FUTURE I-74

0.67.MI.N.JCT. ZIGLAR ROA, Forsyth, NC

Built 2023 Load: 68.0 t ADT: 22,250

SR3153 SBL

Good

Over: I-40

0.4 MI. S. JCT. SR1122, Forsyth, NC

Built 2007 Load: 68.9 t ADT: 9,250

US421 SBL RAMP

Good

Over: I40 I40 BUS US421

1.2 MI. N. JCT. US158, Forsyth, NC

Built 1990 Load: 69.8 t ADT: 6,500

SR2601

Good

Over: NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILROA

0.1 MI. N. JCT. I40 BUS., Forsyth, NC

Built 2014 Load: 69.8 t ADT: 5,000

SR2019

Good

Over: EAST BELEWS CREEK

0.2 MI. W. JCT. SR2017, Forsyth, NC

Built 2001 Load: 70.7 t ADT: 2,100

NC65

Good

Over: US52

0.2 MI. E. JCT. SR1632, Forsyth, NC

Built 2019 Load: 72.5 t ADT: 14,000

SR2643

Good

Over: SOUTH FORK MUDDY CREEK

0.3 MI. E. JCT. SR2698, Forsyth, NC

Built 1989 Load: 72.5 t ADT: 2,300

SR1631

Good

Over: MUDDY CREEK

1.1 MI. W. JCT. NC65, Forsyth, NC

Built 2008 Load: 79.8 t ADT: 1,600

SR1171

Good

Over: US421

1.1 MI. S. JCT. SR1175, Forsyth, NC

Built 2015 Load: 80.7 t ADT: 12,000

SR1173

Good

Over: PANTHER CREEK

0.4 MI. W. JCT. SR1175, Forsyth, NC

Built 1990 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 350

SR2009

Good

Over: UT TO BELEWS CREEK

0.4 MI. W. JCT. US158, Forsyth, NC

Built 2000 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 50

SR1434

Good

Over: BILL BRANCH

0.5 MI. S. JCT. SR1525, Forsyth, NC

Built 1996 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 2,400

SR1312

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

0.5 MI. N. JCT. SR1307, Forsyth, NC

Built 2002 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 730

GRALIN STREET

Good

Over: REEDY FORK CREEK

0.6 MI.S.JCT.N.MAIN ST., Forsyth, NC

Built 2004 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 1,600

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

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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.