Total bridges
66
Public highway bridges in Cavalier County
County profile · official public datasets
Cavalier County, ND
66 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 24.2% rated Good, 50% Fair, 25.8% Poor.
- 66
- Public bridges
- 24.2%
- Good condition
- 25.8%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Cavalier County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across rated county bridge inventory.
- 51st
- of 53 on Poor share
- 25.8%
- Poor-condition share
- 66
- 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.
Cavalier County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Cavalier County ranks #51 of 53 North Dakota counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 25.8%). Cavalier County, North Dakota contains 66 public highway bridges. Roughly 24.2% are rated “Good,” 50% “Fair,” and 25.8% “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
24.2%
16 of 66 rated 7-9
Fair condition
50%
33 of 66 rated 5-6
Poor condition
25.8%
17 of 66 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#51 of 53
Among North Dakota counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 66 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 24.2% (16)
Fair 50% (33)
Poor 25.8% (17)
Cavalier County's Poor-condition bridges carry 661 vehicle crossings a day
That is 8.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 25.8% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 39 crossings a day against 111 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 66 of 66 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
43.9% of Cavalier County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
29 of the 66 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 24.2% 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 74.1% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
ND HIGHWAY 1 over CREEK, built 1931, carries 490 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 17-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 661 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Cavalier County's bridges were built
66 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1910s 3
1910–1919
3 bridges
- 1920s 2
1920–1929
2 bridges
- 1930s
1930–1939
5 bridges
- 1940s 2
1940–1949
2 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
11 bridges
- 1960s 3
1960–1969
3 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
11 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
10 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
10 bridges
- 2000s 3
2000–2009
3 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
6 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1950s, when 11 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 16.7% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 65 to 74 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1973) matches the North Dakota average (1975).
How Cavalier County compares with North Dakota's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 North Dakota counties nearest Cavalier County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 25.8% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1973 against a peer-group mean of 1975 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 52 North Dakota counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer County | 72 | 40.3% | 54.2% | 5.6% | 1975 |
| Bowman County | 69 | 65.2% | 31.9% | 2.9% | 1984 |
| Emmons County | 67 | 65.7% | 31.3% | 3% | 1975 |
| Cavalier County (this page) | 66 | 24.2% | 50% | 25.8% | 1973 |
| Hettinger County | 64 | 34.4% | 50% | 15.6% | 1963 |
| Billings County | 60 | 61.7% | 35% | 3.3% | 1979 |
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 Cavalier 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 Cavalier County, both outside North Dakota so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside ND (66 bridges here).
- Chugach County, AK · 66 bridges
- Inyo County, CA · 66 bridges
- Broomfield County, CO · 66 bridges
- Cook County, GA · 66 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside ND (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 (33)
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: CREEK
4 SOUTH OF MILTON, Cavalier, ND
Built 1975 Load: 2.4 t ADT: 35
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: LITTLE SO. PEMBINA RIVER
2 SOUTH OF MT. CARMEL, Cavalier, ND
Built 1975 Load: 4.5 t ADT: 20
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: WEST SNOWFLAKE CREEK
HANNAH, Cavalier, ND
Built 1963 Load: 4.9 t ADT: 59
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: PEMBINA RIVER
4 SOUTH OF VANG, Cavalier, ND
Built 1917 Load: 6.8 t ADT: 5
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: LITTLE SO. PEMBINA RIVER
3 WEST 1 SOUTH OF VANG, Cavalier, ND
Built 1958 Load: 8.6 t ADT: 24
COUNTY ROAD
FairOver: CREEK
2 EAST 6 SOUTH OF LOMA, Cavalier, ND
Built 1975 Load: 19.1 t ADT: 70
ND HIGHWAY
FairOver: CREEK
8 WEST ND 1, Cavalier, ND
Built 1929 Load: 19.1 t ADT: 810
ND HIGHWAY 5
FairOver: CREEK
2 WEST ND 1, Cavalier, ND
Built 1929 Load: 19.1 t ADT: 1,200
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: SNOWFLAKE CREEK
1 EAST 3 SOUTH OF HANNAH, Cavalier, ND
Built 2001 Load: 23.2 t ADT: 12
COUNTY TRAIL
FairOver: PARK RIVER
5 SOUTH OF EASBY, Cavalier, ND
Built 1958 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 5
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: CYPRESS CREEK
4 NORTH 1 EAST OF CALVIN, Cavalier, ND
Built 1989 Load: 24.9 t ADT: 45
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: LITTLE NO. PEMBINA RIVER
2 EAST 2 NORTH OF VANG, Cavalier, ND
Built 1986 Load: 25.8 t ADT: 45
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: MULBERRY CREEK
9 EAST 1 SOUTH OF HANNAH, Cavalier, ND
Built 1986 Load: 26.9 t ADT: 45
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: CREEK
1 NORTH OF UNION, Cavalier, ND
Built 1975 Load: 28.0 t ADT: 35
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: CREEK
1 WEST OF UNION, Cavalier, ND
Built 1975 Load: 28.8 t ADT: 15
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: CREEK
5 WEST 2 SOUTH OF WALES, Cavalier, ND
Built 1992 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 26
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: CREEK
4 SOUTH 1 WEST OF WALES, Cavalier, ND
Built 1998 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: CREEK
9 EAST OF HANNAH, Cavalier, ND
Built 1997 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 10
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: LITTLE SO. PEMBINA RIVER
2 WEST 6 NORTH LANGDON, Cavalier, ND
Built 1961 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 24
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: SNOWFLAKE CREEK
1 WEST 4 NORTH OF WALES, Cavalier, ND
Built 1997 Load: 33.8 t ADT: 24
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: MOBREY CREEK
5 WEST OF MAIDA, Cavalier, ND
Built 1989 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 45
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: MULBERRY CREEK
4 EAST 3 NORTH OF WALES, Cavalier, ND
Built 1999 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 96
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: LITTLE PEMBINA RIVER
1 EAST 5 NORTH OF OLGA, Cavalier, ND
Built 1983 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 70
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: PARK RIVER
1 WEST 4 SOUTH OF MILTON, Cavalier, ND
Built 1978 Load: 38.4 t ADT: 50
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: LITTLE NO. PEMBINA RIVER
1 EAST 5 NORTH VANG, Cavalier, ND
Built 1991 Load: 43.2 t ADT: 30
ND HIGHWAY 1
FairOver: LITTLE SO. PEMBINA RIVER
12 NORTH OF ND 5, Cavalier, ND
Built 1980 Load: 44.8 t ADT: 310
ND HIGHWAY 20
FairOver: CYPRESS CREEK
2 SOUTH CANADIAN BORDER, Cavalier, ND
Built 1974 Load: 45.3 t ADT: 60
ND HIGHWAY 20
FairOver: CYPRESS CREEK
5 SOUTH CANADIAN BORDER, Cavalier, ND
Built 1980 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 140
ND HIGHWAY 66
FairOver: SOUTH BRANCH PARK RIVER
6 EAST OF ND 1, Cavalier, ND
Built 1973 Load: 50.3 t ADT: 260
ND HIGHWAY 5
FairOver: TONGUE RIVER
8 WEST ND 32 NORTH, Cavalier, ND
Built 1974 Load: 57.4 t ADT: 670
COUNTY HIGHWAY
FairOver: NORTH BRANCH PARK RIVER
3 EAST 1 SOUTH OSNABROCK, Cavalier, ND
Built 1990 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 2
ND HIGHWAY 66
FairOver: NORTH BRANCH PARK RIVER
8 WEST ND 32, Cavalier, ND
Built 1963 Load: 90.5 t ADT: 390
ND HIGHWAY 5
FairOver: TONGUE RIVER
5 WEST ND 32 NORTH, Cavalier, ND
Built 1953 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 630
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.