County profile · official public datasets

Lawrence County, SD

136 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 36% rated Good, 51.5% Fair, 12.5% Poor.

136
Public bridges
36%
Good condition
12.5%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Lawrence 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 41%
lowest Poor share in state
12.5%
Poor-condition share
136
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.

Lawrence County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Lawrence County ranks #27 of 66 South Dakota counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 12.5%). Lawrence County, South Dakota contains 136 public highway bridges. Roughly 36% are rated “Good,” 51.5% “Fair,” and 12.5% “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

136

Public highway bridges in Lawrence County

Good condition

36%

49 of 136 rated 7-9

Fair condition

51.5%

70 of 136 rated 5-6

Poor condition

12.5%

17 of 136 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#27 of 66

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

Condition distribution

Share of 136 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
36% (49)
Fair
51.5% (70)
Poor
12.5% (17)

Lawrence County's Poor-condition bridges carry 7,993 vehicle crossings a day

That is 2% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 12.5% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 470 crossings a day against 2,647 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 136 of 136 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

49.3% of Lawrence County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

67 of the 136 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 36% 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 25% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

COUNTY RD 014B over MILLER CK, built 1934, carries 2,000 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 17-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 7,993 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Lawrence County's bridges were built

136 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 49 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 36% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1980, 5 years newer than the South Dakota average of 1975.

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

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

The 5 South Dakota counties nearest Lawrence County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 12.5% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1980 against a peer-group mean of 1971 is 9 years newer.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Lawrence County and the 5 South Dakota counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Butte County 143 11.9%
Turner County 143 25.9%
Lawrence County (this page) 136 12.5%
Bon Homme County 126 27.8%
Hand County 126 29.4%
Davison County 123 17.1%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside SD (136 bridges here).

Similar average build year

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

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

All 136 Good 49 Fair 70 Poor 17

All bridges (136)

ST ONGE ROAD

Good

Over: FALSE BOTTOM CK

0.1W 1.3S. ST. ONGE, Lawrence, SD

Built 2023 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 600

US085 N

Good

Over: REDWATER RV

BUTTE CO LINE, Lawrence, SD

Built 2005 Load: 43.9 t ADT: 4,417

US014A

Good

Over: BEAR BUTTE CK

2.9 W I 90 INTERCH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1975 Load: 44.7 t ADT: 6,096

I090 E

Good

Over: N RAINBOW RD

1.5 W US 85 S INTERCH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1971 Load: 45.1 t ADT: 8,525

OLD BELLE HWY

Good

Over: REDWATER RV

0.5W 7.0N SPEARFISH, Lawrence, SD

Built 2005 Load: 48.7 t ADT: 740

WHITEWOOD VALLEY

Good

Over: WHITEWOOD CK

0.9N 0.6E WHITEWOOD, Lawrence, SD

Built 2020 Load: 49.9 t ADT: 300

US014A

Good

Over: DEADWOOD CK

2 N JCT US 85, Lawrence, SD

Built 2019 Load: 55.4 t ADT: 7,743

HOMESTAKE ROAD

Good

Over: HIGGINS GULCH

.9N 2.7W SPEARFISH, Lawrence, SD

Built 2000 Load: 57.5 t ADT: 69

I090 E

Good

Over: FALSE BOTTOM CK

1 E US 14A INTERCH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1970 Load: 58.7 t ADT: 8,525

I090 W

Good

Over: FALSE BOTTOM CK

1 E US 14A INTERCH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1970 Load: 59.5 t ADT: 8,525

GOLDEN GATE ST.

Good

Over: DEADWOOD CK

CENTRAL CITY, Lawrence, SD

Built 1992 Load: 60.0 t ADT: 50

US014A

Good

Over: CK

0.7 W I 90 INTERCH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1994 Load: 87.4 t ADT: 8,773

SAINT JOE ST

Good

Over: CHIPMUNK GULCH

ST JOE ST SPEARFISH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1999 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 150

US385

Good

Over: WEST STRAWBERRY CK

0.6 S OF PLUMA, Lawrence, SD

Built 2002 Load: 91.2 t ADT: 2,566

US014A

Good

Over: CK

2.0 W & S I 90 INTERCH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1994 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 1,854

US014A

Good

Over: CK

1.2 W I 90 INTERCH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1994 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 9,004

US385

Good

Over: BEAR BUTTE CK

6.2 S OF PLUMA, Lawrence, SD

Built 2002 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 2,566

US385

Good

Over: MIDDLE BOX ELDER CK

5.8 N PENNINGTON CO LINE, Lawrence, SD

Built 1995 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 2,250

US014A

Good

Over: DRAW

4.2 SW JCT 90/14A, Lawrence, SD

Built 1999 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 6,096

CHRISTENSEN ROAD

Poor

Over: FALSE BOTTOM CK

Int Christensen Maitland, Lawrence, SD

Built 1970 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 100

900006: PETERSON

Poor

Over: Whitewood Creek

2 mi S of Lead SD, Lawrence, SD

Built 2011 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 25

WHITEWOOD SERVICE

Poor

Over: COUNTY RD RC P&E RR

E BOUNDARY WHITEWOOD, Lawrence, SD

Built 1937 Load: 6.1 t ADT: 500

I-90 SERVICE ROAD

Poor

Over: WHITEWOOD CK

1 MI E WHITEWOOD, Lawrence, SD

Built 1938 Load: 7.1 t ADT: 69

MAITLAND ROAD

Poor

Over: FALSE BOTTOM CK

0.7SW Christen & Maitland, Lawrence, SD

Built 1977 Load: 9.5 t ADT: 100

ELMORE RD

Poor

Over: SPEARFISH CK

0.2KM WEST OF 14A, Lawrence, SD

Built 1901 Load: 10.7 t ADT: 50

I-90 SERVICE ROAD

Poor

Over: SPRING CK

2.5 MI. SE WHITEWOOD, Lawrence, SD

Built 1938 Load: 16.5 t ADT: 335

CAMP COMFORT ROAD

Poor

Over: SPEARFISH CK

1.5N SPEARFISH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1975 Load: 19.1 t ADT: 500

COUNTY RD 014B

Poor

Over: MILLER CK

.2 W JCT US85S -SPEARFISH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1934 Load: 19.1 t ADT: 2,000

TIMM LN

Poor

Over: WHITEWOOD CK

TIMM LN - DEADWOOD, Lawrence, SD

Built 1901 Load: 21.0 t ADT: 10

ST ONGE ROAD

Poor

Over: MILLER CK

.3W4.5S ST ONGE-SPEARFISH, Lawrence, SD

Built 1950 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 50

NEMO ROAD

Poor

Over: BOXELDER CK

2.3 N 3.5 W OF NEMO, Lawrence, SD

Built 1974 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 282

NEMO ROAD

Poor

Over: BOXELDER CK

2.4 N 3.5 W NEMO, Lawrence, SD

Built 1974 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 425

NEMO ROAD

Poor

Over: BOXELDER CK

1.3 N & 2.6 W NEMO, Lawrence, SD

Built 1975 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 300

I-90 SERVICE ROAD

Poor

Over: CROW CK

1.5 E WY STATE LINE, Lawrence, SD

Built 1940 Load: 26.4 t ADT: 1,500

NEMO ROAD

Poor

Over: BOXELDER CK

1.3N 2.5W OF NEMO, Lawrence, SD

Built 1975 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 300

US014A

Poor

Over: ICE BOX CK

0.2 E CHEYENNE XING, Lawrence, SD

Built 1964 Load: 61.7 t ADT: 1,447

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.