Total bridges
129
Public highway bridges in Swain County
County profile · official public datasets
Swain County, NC
129 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 25.6% rated Good, 62.8% Fair, 11.6% Poor.
- 129
- Public bridges
- 25.6%
- Good condition
- 11.6%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Swain 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.
- 86th
- of 100 on Poor share
- 11.6%
- Poor-condition share
- 129
- public highway bridges
- 1973
- 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.
Swain County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Swain County ranks #86 of 100 North Carolina counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 11.6%). Swain County, North Carolina contains 129 public highway bridges. Roughly 25.6% are rated “Good,” 62.8% “Fair,” and 11.6% “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
25.6%
33 of 129 rated 7-9
Fair condition
62.8%
81 of 129 rated 5-6
Poor condition
11.6%
15 of 129 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#86 of 100
Among North Carolina counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 129 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 25.6% (33)
Fair 62.8% (81)
Poor 11.6% (15)
Swain County's Poor-condition bridges carry 2,495 vehicle crossings a day
That is 1.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 11.6% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 166 crossings a day against 920 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 129 of 129 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
50.4% of Swain County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
65 of the 129 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 25.6% 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
SR1137 over BOWERS CREEK, built 1978, carries 650 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 15-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 2,495 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Swain County's bridges were built
129 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s 3
1920–1929
3 bridges
- 1930s 8
1930–1939
8 bridges
- 1940s 3
1940–1949
3 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
23 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
20 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
28 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
13 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
14 bridges
- 2000s 7
2000–2009
7 bridges
- 2010s 10
2010–2019
10 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 28 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.7% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1973, 13 years older than the North Carolina average of 1986.
How Swain County compares with North Carolina's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 North Carolina counties nearest Swain County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 11.6% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1973 against a peer-group mean of 1984 is 11 years older.
Showing the 5 closest of 99 North Carolina counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harnett County | 134 | 50.7% | 44.8% | 4.5% | 1983 |
| Swain County (this page) | 129 | 25.6% | 62.8% | 11.6% | 1973 |
| Mitchell County | 127 | 35.4% | 39.4% | 25.2% | 1981 |
| Polk County | 127 | 35.4% | 53.5% | 11% | 1978 |
| Martin County | 124 | 45.2% | 51.6% | 3.2% | 1988 |
| Bladen County | 123 | 64.2% | 34.1% | 1.6% | 1992 |
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 Swain 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 Swain County, both outside North Carolina so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside NC (129 bridges here).
- Clay County, AL · 129 bridges
- Cross County, AR · 129 bridges
- Lake County, CA · 129 bridges
- Lincoln County, CO · 129 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside NC (1973 here).
- Jefferson County, AL · avg 1973 · 1,068 bridges
- Erie County, NY · avg 1973 · 906 bridges
- Davidson County, TN · avg 1973 · 832 bridges
- Lancaster County, PA · avg 1973 · 801 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (81)
CASINO DRIVE
FairOver: CASINO DRIVE
CASINO DRIVE #2, Swain, NC
Built 2008 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 500
OLD NUMBER 4
FairOver: UNKNOWN CREEK
US 411 AND OLD NUMBER 4, Swain, NC
Built 1923 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 20
RESERVATION ROAD
FairOver: FONTANA DAM SPILLWAY
ON FONTANA DAM, Swain, NC
Built 1946 Load: 32.8 t ADT: 390
US19 74 NC28
FairOver: LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER
100 FT.N.JCT.SR1123, Swain, NC
Built 1982 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 9,100
SR1103
FairOver: SILVERMINE CREEK
.1 MI.N.JCT.SR1105, Swain, NC
Built 1953 Load: 34.4 t ADT: 220
OLD SOCO ROAD
FairOver: SOCO CREEK
1372 OLD SOCO ROAD, Swain, NC
Built 1950 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 10
SR1192
FairOver: US74
50 FT.S.JCT.SR1191, Swain, NC
Built 1976 Load: 37.1 t ADT: 300
US74 EBL
FairOver: SR1155
.6 MI.W.JCT.SR1159, Swain, NC
Built 1975 Load: 37.1 t ADT: 7,000
US74 WBL
FairOver: SR1155
.6 MI.W.JCT.SR1159, Swain, NC
Built 1975 Load: 37.1 t ADT: 7,000
IRR SR1378
FairOver: OCONALUFTEE RIVER
.02 MI.S.JCT.US411, Swain, NC
Built 1972 Load: 37.1 t ADT: 14,000
IRR BIA RTE 456
FairOver: RAVEN FORK
6.4 KM NE OF CHEROKEE NC, Swain, NC
Built 1994 Load: 38.0 t ADT: 250
IRR BIA RTE 456
FairOver: RAVEN FORK
7.5 KM NE OF CHEROKEE NC, Swain, NC
Built 1997 Load: 38.0 t ADT: 100
US74 EBL
FairOver: SR1173 SO.RR TUCKASEGEE
2.4 MI.E.JCT.SR1168, Swain, NC
Built 1976 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 7,250
CAMPGROUND ENTRANC
FairOver: DEEP CREEK
0.9 MILES FROM NPS ROUTE, Swain, NC
Built 1999 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 255
US74 EBL
FairOver: SR1166
1 MI.E.JCT.SR1159, Swain, NC
Built 1978 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 7,250
US74 WBL
FairOver: SR1166
1 MI.E.JCT.SR1159, Swain, NC
Built 1978 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 7,000
US74 WBL
FairOver: SR1173 RR TUCKASEGEE RVR
2.4 MI.E.JCT.SR1168, Swain, NC
Built 1976 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 7,250
NC28 SBL
FairOver: NANTAHALA R.& GSMR
50 FT.S.JCT.SR1121, Swain, NC
Built 1988 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 2,250
ELIZABETH LONG RD
FairOver: BIG WITCH CREEK
ELIZABETH LONG RD, Swain, NC
Built 1945 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 30
EDO LI DO LANE
FairOver: BIG WITCH CREEK
EDO LI DO LANE, Swain, NC
Built 1945 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 30
SR1173
FairOver: CONNELLY CREEK
10 FT.S.JCT.SR1194, Swain, NC
Built 1958 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 2,100
NC28 NBL
FairOver: NANTAHALA RIVER .&GSMR
50 FT.S.JCT.SR1121, Swain, NC
Built 1997 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 2,250
US74 WBL
FairOver: SR1159
3 MI.E.JCT.SR1140, Swain, NC
Built 1975 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 7,000
US74 EBL
FairOver: SR1159
3 MI.E.JCT.SR1140, Swain, NC
Built 1978 Load: 46.2 t ADT: 7,000
SR1168
FairOver: TUCKASEGEE RIVER
.01 MI.S.JCT.US19, Swain, NC
Built 1978 Load: 49.8 t ADT: 1,700
SR1364
FairOver: TUCKASEGEE RIVER
.1 MI.N.JCT.US19, Swain, NC
Built 1969 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 7,800
WRIGHTS CREEK ROAD
FairOver: WRIGHTS CREEK
311 WRIGHTS CREEK ROAD, Swain, NC
Built 1950 Load: 57.1 t ADT: 10
US441
FairOver: OCONALUFTEE RIVER GOV.RD
.47 MI.S.JCT.US19, Swain, NC
Built 1987 Load: 70.7 t ADT: 8,900
US74 SR1193
FairOver: CONNELLY CREEK
20 FT.E.JCT.SR1177, Swain, NC
Built 1976 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 13,500
SR1103
FairOver: SILVERMINE CREEK
.5 MI.S.JCT.SR1105, Swain, NC
Built 1988 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 220
SR1140
FairOver: ALARKA CREEK
150 E.JCT.SR1147, Swain, NC
Built 1965 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 1,300
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.