County profile · official public datasets

Horry County, SC

479 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 50.1% rated Good, 46.1% Fair, 3.8% Poor.

479
Public bridges
50.1%
Good condition
3.8%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Horry County pairs a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.

Top 28%
lowest Poor share in state
3.8%
Poor-condition share
479
public highway bridges
1986
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.

Horry County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Horry County ranks #13 of 46 South Carolina counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 3.8%). Horry County, South Carolina contains 479 public highway bridges. Roughly 50.1% are rated “Good,” 46.1% “Fair,” and 3.8% “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.

Total bridges

479

Public highway bridges in Horry County

Good condition

50.1%

240 of 479 rated 7-9

Fair condition

46.1%

221 of 479 rated 5-6

Poor condition

3.8%

18 of 479 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#13 of 46

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

Condition distribution

Share of 479 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
50.1% (240)
Fair
46.1% (221)
Poor
3.8% (18)

Horry County's Poor-condition bridges carry 223,925 vehicle crossings a day

That is 6.2% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 3.8% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 12,440 crossings a day against 9,182 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 479 of 479 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

31.3% of Horry County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

150 of the 479 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 50.1% 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 24.1% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 501 BYP over U.S.701, built 1958, carries 54,000 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 18-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 223,925 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Horry County's bridges were built

479 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 139 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 29% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1986, 9 years newer than the South Carolina average of 1977.

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

How Horry County compares with South Carolina's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 South Carolina counties nearest Horry County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 3.8% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1986 against a peer-group mean of 1980 is 6 years newer.

Showing the 5 closest of 45 South Carolina counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Horry County and the 5 South Carolina counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Spartanburg County 638 10.2%
Greenville County 635 7.9%
Horry County (this page) 479 3.8%
Anderson County 463 4.8%
Richland County 361 3.9%
Charleston County 336 2.4%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside SC (479 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside SC (1986 here).

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

All 479 Good 240 Fair 221 Poor 18

All bridges (479)

S-26-1315 SB

Good

Over: US 17

IN MYRTLE BEACH, Horry, SC

Built 2002 Load: 51.5 t ADT: 14,000

SC 90

Good

Over: JONES BIG SWAMP

12MI NE OF CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1975 Load: 51.8 t ADT: 15,100

SC 31 SB

Good

Over: L-1244/RIVER OAKS DR

9.6 MI NE SOCASTEE, Horry, SC

Built 2002 Load: 52.5 t ADT: 14,950

SC 31 NBL

Good

Over: L-1244/RIVER OAKS DR

9.6 MI NE SOCASTEE, Horry, SC

Built 2002 Load: 52.8 t ADT: 14,950

SC 31 NB

Good

Over: L-26-834

3 MI N OR N MYRTLE BEACH, Horry, SC

Built 2002 Load: 54.1 t ADT: 21,400

SC 31 SBL

Good

Over: L-1390/RONALDMCNAIR BLVD

5.5 MI NE SOCASTEE, Horry, SC

Built 2002 Load: 55.4 t ADT: 14,950

SC 31 NBL

Good

Over: L-1390/RONALDMCNAIR BLVD

5.5 MI NE SOCASTEE, Horry, SC

Built 2002 Load: 55.4 t ADT: 14,950

C-26-477

Good

Over: CEDAR SWAMP

3.0 MI W OF GARDEN CITY, Horry, SC

Built 2003 Load: 57.0 t ADT: 3,600

SC 90

Good

Over: STERITT SWAMP

4.0MI NE OF CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1975 Load: 58.3 t ADT: 15,100

SC 22 WB

Good

Over: ICWW

1MI N BRIARCLIFF ACRES, Horry, SC

Built 2000 Load: 62.9 t ADT: 14,750

S-26-1315

Good

Over: GRISSOM PARKWAY TUNNEL

IN MYRTLE BEACH, Horry, SC

Built 2002 Load: 69.0 t ADT: 52,300

S-26-154

Poor

Over: SWASH

GARDEN CITY, Horry, SC

Built 1997 Load: 3.6 t ADT: 2,500

S-26-931

Poor

Over: BROWN SWAMP

2.5MI NW CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1976 Load: 15.9 t ADT: 300

S-26-351

Poor

Over: MYRTLE SWASH

5TH AVE MYRTLE BEACH, Horry, SC

Built 1966 Load: 16.2 t ADT: 750

S-26-308

Poor

Over: PRINCE MILL SWAMP

7MI NE AYNOR, Horry, SC

Built 1961 Load: 16.5 t ADT: 125

S-26-934

Poor

Over: BR OF HUNTING SWAMP

7MI W CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1975 Load: 16.5 t ADT: 950

S-26-142

Poor

Over: HUGGINS SWAMP

3MI N FLOYD, Horry, SC

Built 1959 Load: 16.8 t ADT: 600

S-26-309

Poor

Over: BREAKFAST SWAMP

6MI NE AYNOR, Horry, SC

Built 1959 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 450

S-26-472

Poor

Over: HORSEPEN CREEK

2MI N HICKORY GROVE, Horry, SC

Built 1963 Load: 17.5 t ADT: 1,000

S-26-911

Poor

Over: KINGSTON LAKE

5 MI S OF LORIS, Horry, SC

Built 1974 Load: 17.5 t ADT: 300

S-26-569

Poor

Over: BR OF LOUSING SWP

6.0 MI NE AYNOR, Horry, SC

Built 1975 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 1,050

US 501 BYP

Poor

Over: WACCAMAW RIVER

2.0 MI SE OF CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1958 Load: 21.4 t ADT: 54,000

US 701

Poor

Over: MAPLE SWAMP

8.0MI NW OF CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1931 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 12,900

US 501 BYP

Poor

Over: U.S.701

IN CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1958 Load: 28.5 t ADT: 54,000

US 501

Poor

Over: CRABTREE SWAMP

2.0 MI W OF CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1948 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 36,700

SC 917

Poor

Over: LONG BRANCH SWP (NO. 2)

8.5MI NW OF LORIS, Horry, SC

Built 1948 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 2,100

US 701

Poor

Over: CRABTREE SWAMP

CONWAY CITY LIMITS, Horry, SC

Built 1920 Load: 30.5 t ADT: 21,900

US 501

Poor

Over: CHINNERS SWAMP

10.0MI W OF CONWAY, Horry, SC

Built 1948 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,700

SC 9

Poor

Over: IRON SPRING SWAMP

1.0 MI SW OF GREEN SEA, Horry, SC

Built 1981 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 8,600

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

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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.