Total bridges
746
Public highway bridges in Mecklenburg County
County profile · official public datasets
Mecklenburg County, NC
746 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 46.4% rated Good, 51.1% Fair, 2.5% Poor.
- 746
- Public bridges
- 46.4%
- Good condition
- 2.5%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Mecklenburg County posts a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across large county bridge inventory.
- Top 22%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 2.5%
- Poor-condition share
- 746
- public highway bridges
- 1989
- 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.
Mecklenburg County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Mecklenburg County ranks #22 of 100 North Carolina counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 2.5%). Mecklenburg County, North Carolina contains 746 public highway bridges. Roughly 46.4% are rated “Good,” 51.1% “Fair,” and 2.5% “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
46.4%
346 of 746 rated 7-9
Fair condition
51.1%
381 of 746 rated 5-6
Poor condition
2.5%
19 of 746 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#22 of 100
Among North Carolina counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 746 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 46.4% (346)
Fair 51.1% (381)
Poor 2.5% (19)
Mecklenburg County's Poor-condition bridges carry 564,250 vehicle crossings a day
That is 2.9% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 2.5% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 29,697 crossings a day against 21,183 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 746 of 746 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
27.2% of Mecklenburg County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
203 of the 746 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 46.4% 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 20.4% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
I277 & NC16 over US29/NC49 (GRAHAM ST.), built 1971, carries 115,000 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 19-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 564,250 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Mecklenburg County's bridges were built
746 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s 4
1920–1929
4 bridges
- 1930s 7
1930–1939
7 bridges
- 1940s 10
1940–1949
10 bridges
- 1950s 45
1950–1959
45 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
60 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
115 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
102 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
140 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
131 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
114 bridges
- 2020s 18
2020–2029
18 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 140 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 18.8% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1989) matches the North Carolina average (1986).
How Mecklenburg County compares with North Carolina's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 North Carolina counties nearest Mecklenburg County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 2.5% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1989 against a peer-group mean of 1987 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 99 North Carolina counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County | 760 | 53.8% | 40.4% | 5.8% | 1992 |
| Mecklenburg County (this page) | 746 | 46.4% | 51.1% | 2.5% | 1989 |
| Guilford County | 736 | 51.8% | 42.9% | 5.3% | 1990 |
| Buncombe County | 555 | 34.6% | 58.4% | 7% | 1978 |
| Forsyth County | 454 | 41.2% | 49.8% | 9% | 1985 |
| Randolph County | 401 | 45.6% | 52.9% | 1.5% | 1988 |
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 Mecklenburg 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 Mecklenburg County, both outside North Carolina so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside NC (746 bridges here).
- Fairfax County, VA · 751 bridges
- Sacramento County, CA · 740 bridges
- Champaign County, IL · 727 bridges
- Pulaski County, AR · 721 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside NC (1989 here).
- Harris County, TX · avg 1989 · 4,029 bridges
- Buffalo County, NE · avg 1989 · 459 bridges
- Brazos County, TX · avg 1989 · 370 bridges
- Dubuque County, IA · avg 1989 · 346 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
All bridges (746)
TYVOLA ROAD
FairOver: LITTLE HOPE CREEK
0.6 MI.E.WEDGEWOOD DR., Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1977 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 32,000
I485 WBL RAMP
FairOver: I77 NBL RAMP
0.8 MI. N. JCT. SR1126, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1994 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 41,500
SR1641
FairOver: PAW CREEK
0.2 MI. S. JCT. SR1640, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1972 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 8,700
SR1116
FairOver: BACKWATER CATAWBA
0.3 MI. S. JCT. SR1355, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1961 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 13,000
TYVOLA ROAD
FairOver: SUGAR CREEK
0.1MI.N.JCT. CITY PARK DR, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1989 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 21,000
WESTINGHOUSE BLVD.
FairOver: LITTLE SUGAR CREEK
.1 MI.W.JCT.RODNEY ST., Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1960 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 20,000
SOUTH STREET
FairOver: UNNAMED TRIBUTARY
150 FT.N.JCT.OLD CANAL ST, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 2006 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 14,000
SR2136
FairOver: MCDOWELL CREEK
0.75 MI. E. JCT. SR2131, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1965 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 10,500
US74 NC27
FairOver: SEABOARD COASTLINE RR
1.13 MI. E. JCT. NC16, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1997 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 107,000
SR2935
FairOver: A C & WESTERN RR
0.1 MI. E. JCT. SR2975, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1937 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 22,000
PRESSLEY ROAD
FairOver: I77
0.3 MI. E. JCT. NC49, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1968 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 11,750
I277
FairOver: SCLRR & JOHNSON STREET
0.15 MI. N. JCT. NC49, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1971 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 125,000
I277
FairOver: 5TH STREET
0.1 MI. S. JCT. NC27, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1981 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 90,500
SR5901
FairOver: TAGGART CREEK
1.4 MI. S. JCT. I85, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1981 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 52,500
I485 INNER RAMP
FairOver: SUGAR CREEK
2.6 MI. N. JCT. SR4904, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1994 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 36,750
I485 SBL
FairOver: MALLARD CREEK
0.2 MI. S. JCT. US29, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1999 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 42,750
US74
FairOver: IRWIN CREEK
100 FT. S. JCT. NC27, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1954 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 36,500
I85
FairOver: PAW CREEK
0.75 MI. N. JCT. SR1625, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1960 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 115,000
I277 RAMP
FairOver: LITTLE SUGAR CREEK
0.1 MI. S. JCT. I-277, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1972 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 32,500
NC16
FairOver: FOURMILE CREEK
0.46 MI. N. JCT.SR4026, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1931 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 38,000
I485 & NC51
FairOver: UT TO CLEAR CREEK
0.33 MI. S. JCT. SR3114, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 2004 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 64,500
SR4886
FairOver: I77
0.15 MI. W. JCT. I277, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1970 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 22,000
SR1606
FairOver: LONG CREEK
0.35 MI. E. JCT. NC27, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1974 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 3,100
LA SALLE STREET
FairOver: IRWIN CREEK
0.1 MI.E.JCT.I77, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1971 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 18,500
SR2691
FairOver: IRWIN CREEK
0.9 MI. S. JCT. I-85, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 2004 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 16,000
NC16
FairOver: MCMULLEN CREEK
1.6 MI. S. JCT. SR3585, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1930 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 38,500
US74
FairOver: BRIER CREEK
1.0 MI. W. JCT. SR2940, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1949 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 107,000
US21
FairOver: CALDWELL STATION CREEK
0.3 MI. N. JCT. SR2145, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1954 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 23,500
I77
FairOver: IRWIN CREEK
0.35 MI. N. JCT. US74, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1972 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 122,000
I77
FairOver: IRWIN CREEK
0.7 MI.S.JCT I277&NC16, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1972 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 133,000
SR3143
FairOver: IRVINS CREEK
0.37 MI. N. JCT. SR4100, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1945 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 7,600
SR3128
FairOver: MCALPINE CREEK
0.12 MI. W. JCT. SR4216, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1960 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 17,500
SR2420
FairOver: WEST BRANCH ROCKY RIVER
0.5 MI. W. JCT. SR2418, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1960 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 4,000
SR1410
FairOver: STEELE CREEK
0.15 MI. E. JCT. SR1452, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1960 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 20,000
SR1785
FairOver: GUM BRANCH CREEK
0.4 MI. N. JCT. SR2010, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1950 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 8,800
MATHESON AVE.
FairOver: LITTLE SUGAR CREEK
.1 MI.S.JCT.N.TRYON ST., Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1965 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 19,500
SR2693
FairOver: S.PRONG W.BRANCH ROCKY R
0.5 MI. W. JCT. SR2429, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1960 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 9,500
NC24
FairOver: I85
0.33 MI. E. JCT. SR2699, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1970 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 64,000
I277 NBL US74 EBL
FairOver: LITTLE SUGAR CREEK
0.4 MI. N. JCT. NC16, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1971 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 89,000
I85 & RAMPS
FairOver: STONY CREEK
0.25 MI. S. JCT. I485, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1965 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 150,000
I277 NC16
FairOver: LITTLE SUGAR CREEK
0.3 MI. N. JCT. US74, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1972 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 89,000
I77
FairOver: BRANCH OF IRWIN CREEK
0.6 MI.N.JCT.SR2112, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1974 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 89,000
NC16 NBL
FairOver: CATAWBA RIVER
0.87 MI. N. JCT. SR2253, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1956 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 22,250
REMOUNT ROAD
FairOver: SOUTHERN RAILROAD
.1MI.S.JCT.WILKINSON BLVD, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1952 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 14,500
9942 (W. FIFTH ST)
FairOver: IRWIN CREEK
0.1 MI. E. JCT. I77, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1960 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 17,500
SHARON VIEW ROAD
FairOver: MCMULLEN CREEK
0.01 MI.W.JCT.COLONY RD., Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1970 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 7,100
DALECREST DRIVE
FairOver: IRWIN CREEK
250 FT E JCT VALEVIEW LN., Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1970 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 2,000
ARBORWAY LANE
FairOver: MCMULLEN CREEK
0.45 MI N JCT FAIRWAY RD., Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1970 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 500
CRAIGHEAD ROAD
FairOver: LITTLE SUGAR CREEK
200FT. S.JCT.W/TRYON RD., Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1960 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 8,100
CENTRAL AVENUE
FairOver: BRIAR CREEK
0.1 MI.E.JCT.LOGIE AVENUE, Mecklenburg, NC
Built 1950 Load: 32.6 t ADT: 22,500
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.