County profile · official public datasets

Union County, SC

131 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 35.9% rated Good, 49.6% Fair, 14.5% Poor.

131
Public bridges
35.9%
Good condition
14.5%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Union County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

46th
of 46 on Poor share
14.5%
Poor-condition share
131
public highway bridges
1975
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.

Union County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Union County ranks #46 of 46 South Carolina counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 14.5%). Union County, South Carolina contains 131 public highway bridges. Roughly 35.9% are rated “Good,” 49.6% “Fair,” and 14.5% “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

131

Public highway bridges in Union County

Good condition

35.9%

47 of 131 rated 7-9

Fair condition

49.6%

65 of 131 rated 5-6

Poor condition

14.5%

19 of 131 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#46 of 46

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

Condition distribution

Share of 131 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
35.9% (47)
Fair
49.6% (65)
Poor
14.5% (19)

Union County's Poor-condition bridges carry 19,525 vehicle crossings a day

That is 16.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 14.5% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,028 crossings a day against 686 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 131 of 131 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

48.1% of Union County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

63 of the 131 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 35.9% 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 16.4% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SC 49 over FAIRFOREST CREEK, built 1931, carries 3,200 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 19-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 19,525 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Union County's bridges were built

131 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 21 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 16% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1975) matches the South Carolina average (1977).

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

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

The 5 South Carolina counties nearest Union County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 14.5% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1975 against a peer-group mean of 1973 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Union County and the 5 South Carolina counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Fairfield County 139 7.9%
Union County (this page) 131 14.5%
Jasper County 129 0%
Dillon County 128 4.7%
Saluda County 125 6.4%
Edgefield County 124 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 Union 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 Union County, both outside South Carolina so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside SC (131 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside SC (1975 here).

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

All 131 Good 47 Fair 65 Poor 19

All bridges (131)

S-44-481

Fair

Over: ISAACS CREEK

7.8 MI SW UNION, Union, SC

Built 1980 Load: 28.2 t ADT: 225

S FORK NEAL CREEK-

Fair

Over: S FORK NEAL CREEK

NO DATA ENTERED, Union, SC

Built 1969 Load: 29.8 t ADT: 50

SC 49

Fair

Over: CITY ST IN LOCKHART

TOWN OF LOCKHART, Union, SC

Built 1959 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 2,600

S-44-440

Fair

Over: BR LITTLE BROWN CK

5.8 MI NE UNION, Union, SC

Built 1977 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 50

S-44-86

Fair

Over: NEALS CREEK

5 MI N CARLISLE, Union, SC

Built 2015 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 125

SC 18

Fair

Over: B.U.C. RAILROAD

CITY OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1936 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 4,700

S-44-24

Fair

Over: CANE CREEK

10.5 MI SW UNION, Union, SC

Built 1988 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 225

S-44-52

Fair

Over: SUGAR CREEK

5.6 MI W OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1986 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 500

S-44-221

Fair

Over: MITCHELL CREEK

7.9 MI NW UNION, Union, SC

Built 1992 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 175

C-44-229

Fair

Over: SPEER CREEK

3.0 MI W OF JONESVILLE, Union, SC

Built 1988 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 200

US 176

Fair

Over: TYGER RIVER

10.4 MI S OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1962 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 1,950

US 176 WB

Fair

Over: ROCKY CREEK

5.7 MI N.W. OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1987 Load: 48.9 t ADT: 4,600

SC 49

Fair

Over: SHOALS CREEK

CITY OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1931 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 4,500

US 176 EB

Fair

Over: ROCKY CREEK

5.7 MI N.W. OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1987 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 4,600

S-44-24

Fair

Over: TINKER CREEK

4.7 MI SE UNION, Union, SC

Built 1988 Load: 55.1 t ADT: 225

C-44-142

Good

Over: MC/CLURES CREEK

7.3MI NW OF BUFFALO, Union, SC

Built 2010 Load: 6.5 t ADT: 200

S-44-23

Good

Over: FAIRFOREST CREEK

5.1 MI W UNION, Union, SC

Built 1998 Load: 13.3 t ADT: 300

S-44-279

Good

Over: FAIR FOREST CREEK

6.2 MI NW UNION, Union, SC

Built 2013 Load: 19.4 t ADT: 400

S-44-19

Good

Over: ROCKY CREEK

5.6 MI NW UNION, Union, SC

Built 1950 Load: 23.3 t ADT: 475

S-44-12

Good

Over: SPEARS CREEK BRANCH

8.6 MI NW UNION, Union, SC

Built 1947 Load: 23.7 t ADT: 550

S-44-24

Good

Over: BRUSHY CREEK

6.1 MI SE UNION, Union, SC

Built 1986 Load: 23.7 t ADT: 225

S-44-439

Good

Over: BR BUFFALO CR.

CITY OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1975 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 50

S-44-22

Good

Over: ENOREE RIVER

13.5 MI SW UNION, Union, SC

Built 2017 Load: 24.6 t ADT: 475

SC 56

Good

Over: ENOREE RIVER

LAURENS CO LN, Union, SC

Built 1999 Load: 24.9 t ADT: 900

SC 49

Good

Over: LITTLE BROWNS CREEK

5MI NE OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1959 Load: 26.6 t ADT: 2,600

S-44-382

Good

Over: MENG CREEK

BARNDO ST @ UNION, Union, SC

Built 2009 Load: 29.2 t ADT: 950

S-44-86

Good

Over: BIG BROWN CREEK

9.1 MI N CARLISLE, Union, SC

Built 2013 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 125

S-44-35

Good

Over: CSX RR

2.6 MI W CARLISLE, Union, SC

Built 2004 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 200

S-44-176

Good

Over: BRANCH OF BROWNS CREEK

4.5 MI N UNION, Union, SC

Built 2015 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 50

S-44-127

Good

Over: UNNAMED STREAM

UNION, Union, SC

Built 2019 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 700

SC 72

Good

Over: CANE CREEK

1.5 MI W OF CARLISLE, Union, SC

Built 2013 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 2,300

S-44-146

Good

Over: LITTLE BROWNS CREEK

6.1 MI E UNION, Union, SC

Built 2010 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 275

C-44-153

Good

Over: BROCK CREEK

4.0 MI S CARLISLE, Union, SC

Built 1980 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 200

C-44-173

Good

Over: HAWKINS CREEK

5.7MI W OF CARLISLE, Union, SC

Built 1980 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 200

S-44-25

Good

Over: SUGAR CREEK

8.2 MI W UNION, Union, SC

Built 1988 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 650

S-44-522

Good

Over: TINKERS CREEK

3.1 MI SE UNION, Union, SC

Built 1988 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 350

S-44-30

Good

Over: BIG BROWNS CREEK

4.9 MI N UNION, Union, SC

Built 1988 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 550

S-44-36

Good

Over: TINKER CREEK

6.6 MI W OF CARLISLE, Union, SC

Built 1989 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 275

S-44-57

Good

Over: BIG BROWNS CREEK

4.2 MI N OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1990 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 700

S-44-57

Good

Over: LITTLE BROWNS CREEK

5.9MI NE OF UNION, Union, SC

Built 1991 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 700

SC 9

Good

Over: S-31

TOWN OF LOCKHART, Union, SC

Built 2020 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 3,000

SC 9

Good

Over: L-894

TOWN OF LOCKHART, Union, SC

Built 2019 Load: 40.2 t ADT: 3,000

S-44-30

Good

Over: BROWNS CREEK

3.6 MI N UNION, Union, SC

Built 1988 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 550

S-44-30

Good

Over: BILL GILLIAM CREEK

4.3 MI N UNION, Union, SC

Built 1988 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 550

S-44-66

Good

Over: CUNNINGHAM CREEK

4.2 MI NW JONESVILLE, Union, SC

Built 2009 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 150

S-44-12

Good

Over: FAIR FOREST CREEK

9.2 MI NW UNION, Union, SC

Built 2015 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 550

S-44-10

Good

Over: TRIB - BROAD RIVER

UNION RD @ LOCKHART, Union, SC

Built 1996 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 100

S-44-391

Good

Over: MENG CREEK

3.9 MI E UNION, Union, SC

Built 1996 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 375

S-44-19

Good

Over: MITCHELL CREEK

6.7 MI NW UNION, Union, SC

Built 2005 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 275

S-44-71

Good

Over: BROWN CREEK

3.9 MI NE UNION, Union, SC

Built 1991 Load: 42.8 t ADT: 400

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

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →
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.