County profile · official public datasets

Hughes County, SD

40 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 40% rated Good, 37.5% Fair, 22.5% Poor.

40
Public bridges
40%
Good condition
22.5%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

48th
of 66 on Poor share
22.5%
Poor-condition share
40
public highway bridges
1978
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.

Hughes County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Hughes County ranks #48 of 66 South Dakota counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 22.5%). Hughes County, South Dakota contains 40 public highway bridges. Roughly 40% are rated “Good,” 37.5% “Fair,” and 22.5% “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

40

Public highway bridges in Hughes County

Good condition

40%

16 of 40 rated 7-9

Fair condition

37.5%

15 of 40 rated 5-6

Poor condition

22.5%

9 of 40 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#48 of 66

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

Condition distribution

Share of 40 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
40% (16)
Fair
37.5% (15)
Poor
22.5% (9)

Hughes County's Poor-condition bridges carry 23,557 vehicle crossings a day

That is 37.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 22.5% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 2,617 crossings a day against 494 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 40 of 40 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

57.5% of Hughes County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

23 of the 40 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 40% 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 65.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US014 over MISSOURI RV, built 1962, carries 15,450 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 9-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 23,557 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Hughes County's bridges were built

40 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 16 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 40% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1978) matches the South Dakota average (1975).

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

How Hughes County compares with South Dakota's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 South Dakota counties nearest Hughes County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 22.5% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1978 against a peer-group mean of 1967 is 11 years newer.

Showing the 5 closest of 65 South Dakota counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Hughes County and the 5 South Dakota counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Douglas County 44 15.9%
Hughes County (this page) 40 22.5%
Marshall County 39 33.3%
Brule County 38 2.6%
Jones County 37 5.4%
Stanley County 37 13.5%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside SD (40 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside SD (1978 here).

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

All 40 Good 16 Fair 15 Poor 9

All bridges (40)

309TH AVENUE

Fair

Over: CK

0.2 W 0.4 S BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1962 Load: 17.6 t ADT: 152

198 STREET

Fair

Over: SOUTH MEDICINE CK

1.0S & 3.8W HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 1969 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 44

319 AVENUE

Fair

Over: SOUTH MEDICINE CK

2.0W & 1.3S HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 1964 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 33

322 AVENUE

Fair

Over: SOUTH MEDICINE CK

1.0E & 1.5S HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 1968 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 33

SD034

Fair

Over: MEDICINE KNOLL CK

14.3 E JCT US 14 & 83, Hughes, SD

Built 1964 Load: 25.9 t ADT: 1,566

SD034

Fair

Over: DRY RUN CK

5.1 E JCT US 14 & 83, Hughes, SD

Built 1955 Load: 27.9 t ADT: 1,566

206 STREET

Fair

Over: MEDICINE KNOLL CK

0.4 E CANNING, Hughes, SD

Built 1965 Load: 27.9 t ADT: 59

US014

Fair

Over: SOUTH MEDICINE CK

3.5 E OF BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1951 Load: 28.3 t ADT: 1,933

SD034

Fair

Over: MUSH CK

7.3 E JCT US 14 & 83, Hughes, SD

Built 1954 Load: 32.5 t ADT: 1,566

SD034

Fair

Over: RC P&E RR

14.2 E JCT US 14 & 83, Hughes, SD

Built 1964 Load: 39.7 t ADT: 1,566

309 AVENUE

Fair

Over: MEDICINE KNOLL CK

0.3 W 1 S BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 2003 Load: 41.0 t ADT: 150

BROADWAY AVE

Fair

Over: HILGERS GULCH

BROADWAY AVE PIERRE, Hughes, SD

Built 1964 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 6,045

US014 B

Fair

Over: HILGERS GULCH

0.5 E JCT US 14 & 83, Hughes, SD

Built 1969 Load: 63.0 t ADT: 14,036

4TH STREET

Fair

Over: HILGERS GULCH

4TH ST - PIERRE, Hughes, SD

Built 1994 Load: 83.9 t ADT: 100

DAKOTA AVENUE

Fair

Over: HILGERS GULCH

DAKOTA AVE - PIERRE, Hughes, SD

Built 1995 Load: 86.6 t ADT: 2,315

287 AVENUE

Good

Over: SPRING CK

9 N & 0.5 W PIERRE, Hughes, SD

Built 2008 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 125

287 AVENUE

Good

Over: SPRING CK TRIB

8.2N & 0.5W PIERRE, Hughes, SD

Built 2016 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 150

MISSOURI AVE

Good

Over: CAPITOL CK

MISSOURI AV GRIFFN PIERRE, Hughes, SD

Built 2001 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 400

309 AVENUE

Good

Over: BR MEDICINE CK

4.4 S BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1962 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 110

318 AVENUE

Good

Over: CHAPELLE CK

3.3W & 11.5S HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 1994 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 51

318 AVENUE

Good

Over: S FORK MEDICINE KNOLL CK

3.0 W & 0.6 S HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 2008 Load: 32.3 t ADT: 150

296 AVENUE

Good

Over: DRY RUN CK

6.2E & 1.3N PIERRE, Hughes, SD

Built 1995 Load: 33.2 t ADT: 62

198 STREET

Good

Over: MEDICINE KNOLL CK

1.2 E BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 2012 Load: 33.9 t ADT: 45

208 STREET

Good

Over: BREKKE DRAW

1.4 W 0.3 S CANNING, Hughes, SD

Built 1967 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 57

US014

Good

Over: NORTH MEDICINE CK

1.4 NE OF BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1985 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 1,933

US014

Good

Over: CK

0.4 W OF BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1985 Load: 44.3 t ADT: 2,024

324 AVENUE

Good

Over: CHAPELLE CK

3.0E & 9.2S HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 2022 Load: 46.2 t ADT: 33

320 AVENUE

Good

Over: SOUTH MEDICINE CK

0.3W 1.4S HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 2022 Load: 51.0 t ADT: 157

SD034

Good

Over: CK

19.2 E JCT US 14 & 83, Hughes, SD

Built 2015 Load: 53.7 t ADT: 658

SD1804

Good

Over: SPRING CK

1.1 S SULLY CO LINE, Hughes, SD

Built 2007 Load: 80.9 t ADT: 1,286

SD034

Good

Over: CK

19.4 E JCT US 14 & 83, Hughes, SD

Built 2015 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 658

ADAMS STREET

Poor

Over: CK

ADAMS ST. BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1925 Load: 12.2 t ADT: 20

310 AVENUE

Poor

Over: NORTH MEDICINE CK

1.0E & 0.5N BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1934 Load: 12.2 t ADT: 33

314 AVENUE

Poor

Over: SOUTH MEDICINE CK

5.0E & 0.4N BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1961 Load: 14.7 t ADT: 13

321 AVENUE

Poor

Over: CHAPELLE CK

0.3W & 10.17S HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 1963 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 99

US014

Poor

Over: MISSOURI RV

HUGHES - STANLEY CO LINE, Hughes, SD

Built 1962 Load: 20.0 t ADT: 15,450

314 AVENUE

Poor

Over: CHAPELLE CK

15.5S & 6.4W HARROLD, Hughes, SD

Built 1961 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 33

311 AVENUE

Poor

Over: SOUTH MEDICINE CK

2 E 1.1 N BLUNT, Hughes, SD

Built 1964 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 96

CAPITOL AVE

Poor

Over: CAPITOL LAKE OUTLET

CAPITOL AVE PIERRE, Hughes, SD

Built 1950 Load: 32.0 t ADT: 7,155

SD034

Poor

Over: CHAPELLE CK

22.5 E JCT US 14 & 83, Hughes, SD

Built 1949 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 658

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

Related

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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.