County profile · official public datasets

Bell County, TX

660 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 54.7% rated Good, 45% Fair, 0.3% Poor.

660
Public bridges
54.7%
Good condition
0.3%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

Top 37%
lowest Poor share in state
0.3%
Poor-condition share
660
public highway bridges
1984
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.

Bell County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Bell County ranks #92 of 247 Texas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 0.3%). Bell County, Texas contains 660 public highway bridges. Roughly 54.7% are rated “Good,” 45% “Fair,” and 0.3% “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

660

Public highway bridges in Bell County

Good condition

54.7%

361 of 660 rated 7-9

Fair condition

45%

297 of 660 rated 5-6

Poor condition

0.3%

2 of 660 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#92 of 247

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

Condition distribution

Share of 660 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
54.7% (361)
Fair
45% (297)
Poor
0.3% (2)

Bell County's Poor-condition bridges carry 6,071 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 0.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 3,036 crossings a day against 14,031 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 660 of 660 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

34.4% of Bell County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

227 of the 660 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 54.7% 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 94.4% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SH 95 over DARRS CREEK, built 1922, carries 5,733 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 2-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 6,071 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Bell County's bridges were built

660 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 127 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 19.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1984) matches the Texas average (1980).

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

How Bell County compares with Texas's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Texas counties nearest Bell County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 0.3% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1984 against a peer-group mean of 1988 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 246 Texas counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Bell County and the 5 Texas counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
El Paso County 783 0.8%
McLennan County 714 2%
Montgomery County 710 0.7%
Ellis County 691 1.6%
Bell County (this page) 660 0.3%
Brazoria County 618 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 Bell 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 Bell County, both outside Texas so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside TX (660 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside TX (1984 here).

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

All 660 Good 361 Fair 297 Poor 2

Good-condition bridges (361)

IH 35

Good

Over: BRINDLEY BRANCH

0.20 MI N OF LP 363, Bell, TX

Built 2017 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 69,919

IH 35 SBFR

Good

Over: LITTLE ELM CREEK

0.50 MI N OF LP 363, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 4,500

IH 35 NBFR

Good

Over: LITTLE ELM CREEK

0.50 MI N OF LP 363, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 5,000

IH 35 SBML

Good

Over: BERGER/HART RD

1.2 MI. N. of Loop 363, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 33,500

IH 35 NBML

Good

Over: BERGER/HART RD

1.2 MI. N of Loop 363, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 36,800

BERGER/HART RD

Good

Over: CHANNEL A OUTFALL

0.02 MI. W. of IH 35, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 68,800

IH 35

Good

Over: Cottonwood Creek

0.35 Mi S of FM 1237, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 69,919

CLARENCE RD

Good

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

0.02 MI. W. of IH 35, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 68,800

IH 35 SBML

Good

Over: FM 1237

0.2 MI. from Old TX 81, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 30,800

IH 35 NBML

Good

Over: FM 1237

0.2 MI. from Old TX 81, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 35,500

IH 35 SB EXIT

Good

Over: FM 1237

0.1 MI. E. of Old TX 81, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 700

SOUTH TROY RD N TA

Good

Over: IH 35

0.9 MI S. of FM 935, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300

SOUTH TROY RD

Good

Over: IH 35

0.1 MI. E. of Old TX 81, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 5,600

SOUTH TROY RD S TA

Good

Over: IH 35

S TROY RD AT IH 35, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 300

IH 35 SBFR DRWY

Good

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

0.2 MI. SW of FM 1237, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 5

IH 35 FRs

Good

Over: Kings Branch

0.83 Mi S of FM 935, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 66,396

IH 35 SBML

Good

Over: FM 935

IH 35 AT FM 935, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 37,550

IH 35 NBML

Good

Over: FM 935

IH 35 AT FM 935, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 38,450

IH 35

Good

Over: Troy Branch

0.06 Mi N of FM 935, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 63,802

IH 35 ML and FR

Good

Over: Carpenter Creek

0.6 Mi N of FM 935, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 63,802

IH 35 SBML

Good

Over: NORTH TROY RD

IH 35 AT NORTH TROY RD, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 31,600

IH 35 NBML

Good

Over: NORTH TROY RD

IH 35 AT NORTH TROY RD, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 34,600

SP 290 N U-TURN

Good

Over: IH 35

0.83 MI S OF LP 363, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 4,000

SP 290

Good

Over: IH 35

0.86 MI S OF LP 363, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 4,000

SP 290 S U-TURN

Good

Over: IH 35

0.89 MI S OF LP 363, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 4,000

IH 35 NBML

Good

Over: LITTLE ELM CREEK

0.50 MI N OF LP 363, Bell, TX

Built 2017 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 38,027

IH 35 SBML

Good

Over: LITTLE ELM CREEK

0.5 MILES NORTH LP 363, Bell, TX

Built 2018 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 39,600

SH 317

Good

Over: NOLAN CREEK

0.50 MI S OF FM 93, Bell, TX

Built 1999 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 11,637

TAHUAYA RD

Good

Over: IH 35

2.60 MI SW OF LP 121, Bell, TX

Built 2012 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 200

LOOP 121

Good

Over: IH 35

1.05 MI S OF FM 436, Bell, TX

Built 2011 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,600

SHANKLIN RD

Good

Over: IH 35

1.20 MI SW OF LP 121, Bell, TX

Built 2012 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 200

IH 35 NBFR

Good

Over: LAMPASAS RIVER

2.25 MI SW OF LOOP 121, Bell, TX

Built 2011 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,014

IH 35 SBFR

Good

Over: LAMPASAS RIVER

2.25 MI SW OF LP 121, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,000

IH35 NB - US190 WB

Good

Over: IH 35

IH35 / US190 INTERCHANGE, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,200

IH 35

Good

Over: Amity Branch

2.42 Mi. North of FM 2484, Bell, TX

Built 2017 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 67,900

IH 35

Good

Over: Skinner Branch

1.50 Mi. S. of Loop 121, Bell, TX

Built 2017 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 146,391

IH 35

Good

Over: MITCHELL BRANCH

0.35 MI N OF LP 121, Bell, TX

Built 2014 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 57,892

FM 2115

Good

Over: IH 35

1.20 MI S OF FM 2268, Bell, TX

Built 2008 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 850

HACKBERRY RD

Good

Over: IH 35

3.8 MI SW OF FM 2268, Bell, TX

Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 132

IH 35 SBML

Good

Over: HILL RD

4.90 MI SW OF FM 2268, Bell, TX

Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 34,895

IH 35

Good

Over: MITCHELL BRANCH

0.20 MI. S. OF GRAINGE RD, Bell, TX

Built 2017 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 61,254

IH 35

Good

Over: KILLINGSWORTH BRANCH

3.65 MI SW OF FM 2268, Bell, TX

Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 62,317

FM 2268

Good

Over: IH 35

2.22 MI S OF FM 2484, Bell, TX

Built 2015 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 5,200

IH 35 NBFR

Good

Over: IH 35 NB OFF-RAMP

0.12 MI N OF FM 2268, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,320

IH 35 SB FR

Good

Over: SALADO CREEK

0.7 MI W OF FM 2268, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,030

IH 35 NBFR

Good

Over: SALADO CREEK

0.7 MI N of FM 2268, Bell, TX

Built 2015 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,160

IH 35 SB OFF-RAMP

Good

Over: IH 35 SB ON-RAMP

0.74 MI S OF FM 2484, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,030

IH 35 SB

Good

Over: SALADO PLAZA DR

0.53 MI S OF FM 2484, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 33,361

IH 35 NB

Good

Over: SALADO PLAZA DR

0.53 MI S OF FM 2484, Bell, TX

Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 34,339

FM 2484

Good

Over: IH 35

2.22 MI N OF FM 2268, Bell, TX

Built 2015 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 9,200

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.