County profile · official public datasets

Mitchell County, NC

127 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 35.4% rated Good, 39.4% Fair, 25.2% Poor.

127
Public bridges
35.4%
Good condition
25.2%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Mitchell County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.

99th
of 100 on Poor share
25.2%
Poor-condition share
127
public highway bridges
1981
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.

Mitchell County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Mitchell County ranks #99 of 100 North Carolina counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 25.2%). Mitchell County, North Carolina contains 127 public highway bridges. Roughly 35.4% are rated “Good,” 39.4% “Fair,” and 25.2% “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

127

Public highway bridges in Mitchell County

Good condition

35.4%

45 of 127 rated 7-9

Fair condition

39.4%

50 of 127 rated 5-6

Poor condition

25.2%

32 of 127 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#99 of 100

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

Condition distribution

Share of 127 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
35.4% (45)
Fair
39.4% (50)
Poor
25.2% (32)

Mitchell County's Poor-condition bridges carry 18,420 vehicle crossings a day

That is 11.4% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 25.2% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 576 crossings a day against 1,243 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 127 of 127 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

46.5% of Mitchell County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

59 of the 127 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 35.4% 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 26.1% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SR1403 over N.TOE RIVER N&S RR., built 1986, carries 4,800 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 32-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 18,420 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Mitchell County's bridges were built

127 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 25 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 19.7% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1981, 5 years older than the North Carolina average of 1986.

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

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

The 5 North Carolina counties nearest Mitchell County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 25.2% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1981 against a peer-group mean of 1985 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 Mitchell County and the 5 North Carolina counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Swain County 129 11.6%
Polk County 127 11%
Mitchell County (this page) 127 25.2%
Martin County 124 3.2%
Bladen County 123 1.6%
New Hanover County 123 3.3%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NC (127 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside NC (1981 here).

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

All 127 Good 45 Fair 50 Poor 32

Poor-condition bridges (32)

SR1223

Poor

Over: GREEN CREEK

.5 MI.E.JCT.NC261, Mitchell, NC

Built 1969 Load: 9.9 t ADT: 200

SR1325

Poor

Over: BIG ROCK CREEK

.05 MI.N.JCT.NC226, Mitchell, NC

Built 1968 Load: 12.7 t ADT: 350

SR1211

Poor

Over: CANE CREEK

.1 MI.W.JCT.SR1203, Mitchell, NC

Built 1966 Load: 12.7 t ADT: 1,200

SR1223

Poor

Over: GREENE CREEK

1.1 MI.E.JCT.NC261, Mitchell, NC

Built 1969 Load: 12.7 t ADT: 100

SR1352

Poor

Over: SPRING CREEK

.01 MI.E.JCT.NC226, Mitchell, NC

Built 1963 Load: 12.7 t ADT: 500

SR1225

Poor

Over: EAST FORK BIG CRABTREE C

.05 MI.W.JCT.SR1002, Mitchell, NC

Built 1964 Load: 15.4 t ADT: 250

SR1321

Poor

Over: HOLLOW POPLAR CREEK

1.65 MI.N.JCT.SR1322, Mitchell, NC

Built 1995 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 150

SR1199

Poor

Over: WHITE OAK CREEK

.3 MI.S.JCT.NC226, Mitchell, NC

Built 1968 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 650

SR1325

Poor

Over: BEANS CREEK

.6 MI.N.JCT.SR1328, Mitchell, NC

Built 1958 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 350

SR1002

Poor

Over: E.FORK BIG CRABTREE CR

.05 MI.N.JCT.SR1100, Mitchell, NC

Built 1979 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 250

SR1349

Poor

Over: PIGEONROOST CREEK

1.1 MI.N.JCT.SR1319, Mitchell, NC

Built 1971 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 150

SR1002

Poor

Over: BIG CRABTREE CREEK

.85 MI.S.JCT.SR1264, Mitchell, NC

Built 1952 Load: 21.7 t ADT: 700

SR1140

Poor

Over: BEAVER CREEK

.01 MI.N.JCT.SR1143, Mitchell, NC

Built 1959 Load: 22.6 t ADT: 850

SR1188

Poor

Over: CANE CREEK

.1 MI.W.JCT.NC226, Mitchell, NC

Built 1962 Load: 22.6 t ADT: 200

SR1223

Poor

Over: LITTLE ROCK CREEK

.1 MI.E.JCT.NC261, Mitchell, NC

Built 1970 Load: 23.5 t ADT: 200

SR1349

Poor

Over: PIGEON ROOST CREEK

.01 MI.N.JCT.SR1319, Mitchell, NC

Built 1963 Load: 23.5 t ADT: 150

SR1260

Poor

Over: CANE CREEK

.02 MI.S.JCT.NC226, Mitchell, NC

Built 1922 Load: 24.4 t ADT: 200

SR1349

Poor

Over: PIGEON ROOST CREEK

1.3 MI.N.JCT.SR1319, Mitchell, NC

Built 1971 Load: 24.4 t ADT: 150

SR1331

Poor

Over: GREASY CREEK

.15 MI.N.JCT.SR1330, Mitchell, NC

Built 1979 Load: 24.4 t ADT: 230

NC261

Poor

Over: FALL CREEK

.8 MI.N.JCT.SR1345, Mitchell, NC

Built 1954 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 800

SR1111

Poor

Over: GRASSY CREEK

.31 MI.S.JCT.SR1106, Mitchell, NC

Built 1981 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 250

SR1002

Poor

Over: BIG CRABTREE CREEK

.38 MI.S.JCT.US19E, Mitchell, NC

Built 1966 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 700

SR1349

Poor

Over: PIGEONROOST CREEK

1.7 MI.N.JCT.SR1319, Mitchell, NC

Built 1972 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 150

SR1121

Poor

Over: NORTH TOE RIVER

.1 MI.N.JCT.SR1262, Mitchell, NC

Built 1970 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 2,100

SR1325

Poor

Over: BEANS CREEK

.3 MI.N.JCT.SR1328, Mitchell, NC

Built 1974 Load: 37.1 t ADT: 350

SR1171

Poor

Over: SNOW CREEK

.02 MI.N.JCT.SR1172, Mitchell, NC

Built 1969 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 550

SR1211

Poor

Over: CANE CREEK

.01 MI.W.JCT.SR1216, Mitchell, NC

Built 1971 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 1,000

SR1403

Poor

Over: N.TOE RIVER N&S RR.

.05 MI.S.JCT.SR1275, Mitchell, NC

Built 1986 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 4,800

SR1325

Poor

Over: RIGHT FORK BEANS CREEK

1.5 MI.N.JCT.SR1328, Mitchell, NC

Built 1989 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 350

SR1141

Poor

Over: BEAVER CREEK

.01 MI.E.JCT.SR1143, Mitchell, NC

Built 1921 Load: 62.5 t ADT: 300

SR1207

Poor

Over: LEFT FORK CANE CREEK

.02 MI.S.JCT.SR1211, Mitchell, NC

Built 1978 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 40

NC261

Poor

Over: REUBEN CREEK

0.1 MI.N.JCT.SR1159, Mitchell, NC

Built 1952 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 200

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.