County profile · official public datasets

Cotton County, OK

213 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 43.7% rated Good, 53.1% Fair, 3.3% Poor.

213
Public bridges
43.7%
Good condition
3.3%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Cotton County posts a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

Top 25%
lowest Poor share in state
3.3%
Poor-condition share
213
public highway bridges
1980
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.

Cotton County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Cotton County ranks #19 of 77 Oklahoma counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 3.3%). Cotton County, Oklahoma contains 213 public highway bridges. Roughly 43.7% are rated “Good,” 53.1% “Fair,” and 3.3% “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

213

Public highway bridges in Cotton County

Good condition

43.7%

93 of 213 rated 7-9

Fair condition

53.1%

113 of 213 rated 5-6

Poor condition

3.3%

7 of 213 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#19 of 77

Among Oklahoma counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better

Condition distribution

Share of 213 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
43.7% (93)
Fair
53.1% (113)
Poor
3.3% (7)

Cotton County's Poor-condition bridges carry 1,644 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 3.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 235 crossings a day against 1,648 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 213 of 213 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

46% of Cotton County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

98 of the 213 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 43.7% 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 56.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

U.S. 70 over CACHE CREEK, built 1955, carries 930 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 7-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 1,644 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Cotton County's bridges were built

213 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 43 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1980) matches the Oklahoma average (1977).

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

How Cotton County compares with Oklahoma's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Oklahoma counties nearest Cotton County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 3.3% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1980 against a peer-group mean of 1976 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 76 Oklahoma counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Cotton County and the 5 Oklahoma counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Choctaw County 216 7.4%
Washington County 215 11.2%
Cotton County (this page) 213 3.3%
Hughes County 207 8.7%
Cherokee County 206 10.7%
Okfuskee County 204 6.9%

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 Cotton 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 Cotton County, both outside Oklahoma so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside OK (213 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside OK (1980 here).

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

All bridges (213)

U.S. 70

Fair

Over: CREEK

10.9 E BAILEY T. P, Cotton, OK

Built 1955 Load: 41.9 t ADT: 930

IRR N2710

Fair

Over: WHISKEY CREEK

4E 6.9S OF SH53, Cotton, OK

Built 2015 Load: 41.9 t ADT: 100

IRR N2720

Fair

Over: CREEK

5E 8.3S OF SH53, Cotton, OK

Built 2015 Load: 41.9 t ADT: 100

E1770

Fair

Over: BEAVER CREEK

6M N & 3M E JCT SH53&SH65, Cotton, OK

Built 1988 Load: 43.4 t ADT: 100

1748C

Fair

Over: SNAKE CREEK

6 M N & .6 M E JCT 5&277, Cotton, OK

Built 1990 Load: 43.4 t ADT: 100

U.S. 277

Fair

Over: WEST CACHE CREEK OFLOW

.5 MI E JCT SH 5 & US 277, Cotton, OK

Built 1994 Load: 44.5 t ADT: 450

E1960

Fair

Over: CREEK

1N 3E JCT SH65/US70, Cotton, OK

Built 2002 Load: 46.7 t ADT: 50

E1820

Fair

Over: CREEK

1. M. N.& .9 M. W.SH5&S53, Cotton, OK

Built 1955 Load: 49.7 t ADT: 100

IRR FAS 1716

Fair

Over: CREEK

4W .6S JCT US277/SH5A, Cotton, OK

Built 2003 Load: 51.3 t ADT: 100

E1940

Fair

Over: WHISKEY CREEK

4.7S 3.2E OF S.H. 5, Cotton, OK

Built 2006 Load: 55.2 t ADT: 100

E1780

Fair

Over: SNAKE CREEK

5. N .8 E OF US 277, Cotton, OK

Built 1995 Load: 71.1 t ADT: 100

1712C

Fair

Over: CREEK

0.8 MI W US 277&1.N.SH5A, Cotton, OK

Built 1995 Load: 77.7 t ADT: 29

E179

Fair

Over: OVER FLOW CREEK

4.0 N & 2.4 E SH 53/SH 65, Cotton, OK

Built 1998 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 100

U.S. 277

Good

Over: CREEK

.3 MI S JCT SH 5, Cotton, OK

Built 1932 Load: 22.5 t ADT: 390

E1840

Good

Over: CREEK

1. S .7 W OF US 281-SH5, Cotton, OK

Built 1960 Load: 22.5 t ADT: 100

E1950

Good

Over: CREEK

1N 3.1W OF JCT US70/SH36, Cotton, OK

Built 2007 Load: 22.5 t ADT: 100

N2550

Good

Over: CREEK

.7S 1.5W JCT 1-44/US281, Cotton, OK

Built 2006 Load: 22.5 t ADT: 25

E1810

Good

Over: BRUSH CREEK

2N; 10.9W SH5/US277S, Cotton, OK

Built 2009 Load: 22.5 t ADT: 100

IRR N2620

Good

Over: CREEK

1.3N OF S.H. 53 / S.H. 5, Cotton, OK

Built 2013 Load: 22.5 t ADT: 214

CO. RD. E1930

Good

Over: BAILEY B TP (I-44) UNDER

T.P.NO.21.47, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 25.4 t ADT: 3,690

E1850

Good

Over: EAST CACHE CREEK TRIB.

2.0S;1.0E OF S.H.53/S.H.5, Cotton, OK

Built 2010 Load: 25.9 t ADT: 100

CO. RD. E1899

Good

Over: BAILEY B TP (I-44) UNDER

T.P.BR.NO.17.41, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 3,690

N2690

Good

Over: CREEK

2. E .4 S OF OF SH 53, Cotton, OK

Built 2000 Load: 26.8 t ADT: 25

S.H. 5

Good

Over: SOLDIER CREEK

4.2 S OF JCT S.H. 53, Cotton, OK

Built 2015 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 1,300

S.H. 5 A

Good

Over: BAILEY B TP (I-44) UNDER

1.3 E OF U.S. 277, Cotton, OK

Built 2016 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 300

S.H. 5

Good

Over: CREEK

.1 MI W JCT SH 53, Cotton, OK

Built 1932 Load: 27.6 t ADT: 2,700

U.S. 70

Good

Over: CREEK

.7 W JEFFERSON C/L, Cotton, OK

Built 1938 Load: 27.9 t ADT: 1,200

U.S. 70

Good

Over: CREEK

4.7 MI E TILLMAN C/L, Cotton, OK

Built 1949 Load: 28.5 t ADT: 1,600

CO. RD. N2520

Good

Over: BAILEY B TP (I-44) UNDER

TP NO B 22.66, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 28.8 t ADT: 3,690

S.H. 5

Good

Over: CREEK

0.40 MI E US 281, Cotton, OK

Built 1976 Load: 28.8 t ADT: 3,000

I-44 FRONTAGE RD.

Good

Over: CREEK

0.4S JCT I-44/U.S. 70, Cotton, OK

Built 1963 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 100

1710C

Good

Over: CREEK

4S 7.4W OF US 281/ SH 5, Cotton, OK

Built 2002 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 100

U.S. 277

Good

Over: DEEP RED CREEK OFLOW

2.9 N JCT U.S. 70, Cotton, OK

Built 2018 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 600

S.H. 5 B

Good

Over: CREEK

3.6 MI N JCT US 70, Cotton, OK

Built 1988 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 120

S.H. 5 B

Good

Over: COTTONMOUTH CREEK

1.8 MI N JCT US 70, Cotton, OK

Built 1989 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 120

U.S. 277

Good

Over: DEEP RED CREEK

3.1 N JCT U.S. 70, Cotton, OK

Built 2018 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 800

E1910

Good

Over: CREEK

8. S 2.3 E OF SH 53, Cotton, OK

Built 1993 Load: 32.1 t ADT: 100

IRR 1730C

Good

Over: WEST CACHE CREEK

3.2 MI N SH 5-3M W-5&277, Cotton, OK

Built 1993 Load: 32.2 t ADT: 100

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: CREEK

T P NO B 23.62, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: CREEK

T.P.NO.19.26, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: CREEK

T P BR. NO.18.30, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: CREEK

T P BR NO 15.71, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: CREEK

T P BR NO 14.54, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: CREEK

T P BR NO 13.62, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: U.S. 70 UNDER

1.3 MI E SH36, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: DEEP RED RUN OFLOW

T.P.NO.20.11, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: DEEP RED RUN OFLOW

T.P.NO.20.43, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: E1860 & W CACHE CR OFLO

T P BR NO 13.37, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: WEST CACHE CREEK OFLOW

T P BR NO 13.08, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300

BAILEY B TP (I-44)

Good

Over: DEEP RED RUN CREEK

T P NO.20.28, Cotton, OK

Built 1964 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,300
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.