Total bridges
991
Public highway bridges in Denton County
County profile · official public datasets
Denton County, TX
991 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 57.8% rated Good, 41.3% Fair, 0.9% Poor.
- 991
- Public bridges
- 57.8%
- Good condition
- 0.9%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Denton County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.
- 129th
- of 247 on Poor share
- 0.9%
- Poor-condition share
- 991
- public highway bridges
- 1994
- 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.
Denton County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Denton County ranks #129 of 247 Texas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 0.9%). Denton County, Texas contains 991 public highway bridges. Roughly 57.8% are rated “Good,” 41.3% “Fair,” and 0.9% “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.
Good condition
57.8%
573 of 991 rated 7-9
Fair condition
41.3%
409 of 991 rated 5-6
Poor condition
0.9%
9 of 991 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#129 of 247
Among Texas counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 991 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 57.8% (573)
Fair 41.3% (409)
Poor 0.9% (9)
Denton County's Poor-condition bridges carry 127,256 vehicle crossings a day
That is 1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 0.9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 14,140 crossings a day against 13,125 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 989 of 991 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
22.3% of Denton County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
221 of the 991 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 57.8% 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 26.1% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
IH 35 NBML over CLEAR CREEK, built 1958, carries 33,174 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 127,256 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Denton County's bridges were built
991 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s 3
1920–1929
3 bridges
- 1930s 10
1930–1939
10 bridges
- 1940s 17
1940–1949
17 bridges
- 1950s 83
1950–1959
83 bridges
- 1960s 70
1960–1969
70 bridges
- 1970s 54
1970–1979
54 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
105 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
158 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
231 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
229 bridges
- 2020s 31
2020–2029
31 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 231 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 23.3% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1994, 14 years newer than the Texas average of 1980.
How Denton County compares with Texas's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Texas counties nearest Denton County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 0.9% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1994 against a peer-group mean of 1991 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 246 Texas counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williamson County | 1,170 | 67.4% | 32.2% | 0.3% | 1995 |
| Collin County | 1,127 | 67% | 32.9% | 0.1% | 1998 |
| Denton County (this page) | 991 | 57.8% | 41.3% | 0.9% | 1994 |
| Fort Bend County | 795 | 72.8% | 24.7% | 2.5% | 1998 |
| El Paso County | 783 | 54.4% | 44.8% | 0.8% | 1986 |
| McLennan County | 714 | 51.8% | 46.2% | 2% | 1980 |
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 Denton 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 Denton County, both outside Texas so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside TX (991 bridges here).
- Lane County, OR · 1,010 bridges
- Worcester County, MA · 1,014 bridges
- Santa Clara County, CA · 964 bridges
- Marion County, IN · 958 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside TX (1994 here).
- St. Charles County, MO · avg 1994 · 417 bridges
- Rock County, WI · avg 1994 · 304 bridges
- Pitt County, NC · avg 1994 · 228 bridges
- Columbus County, NC · avg 1994 · 226 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (409)
IH 35E NBML
FairOver: TIMBER CREEK
2.60 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1957 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 74,860
IH 35E NBFR
FairOver: SH 121 BUS
4.25 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1981 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 14,460
IH 35E NBFR
FairOver: TIMBER CREEK
1.10 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1982 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 14,460
IH 35E SBFR
FairOver: ELM FORK TRINITY RIVER
0.65 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1982 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,450
IH 35E NBFR
FairOver: TIMBER CREEK
2.60 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1983 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 14,460
IH 35E SBFR
FairOver: TIMBER CREEK
2.60 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1983 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,450
VALLEY RIDGE BL WB
FairOver: IH 35E
2.20 MI NW OF SH 121 BUS, Denton, TX
Built 1990 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,000
VALLEY RIDGE BL EB
FairOver: IH 35E
2.20 MI NW OF SH 121 BUS, Denton, TX
Built 1990 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,000
FRANKFORD RD CONN
FairOver: IH 35E & ELM FK REL 2
0.25 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1995 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 5,000
IH 35E SBML
FairOver: TIMBER CREEK
1.10 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1996 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 70,035
IH 35E NBML
FairOver: TIMBER CREEK
1.10 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1996 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 74,860
IH 35E SBFR
FairOver: ELM FK TRINITY RIV REL 2
0.30 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1995 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 14,607
FM 3040
FairOver: IH 35E
2.25 MI NW OF DALLAS C/L, Denton, TX
Built 1989 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 35,030
SH 114 EB
FairOver: BNSF RAILROAD
2.0 MI. W. OF FM 156, Denton, TX
Built 1997 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 21,635
SH 114 WB FR
FairOver: MARSHALL BRANCH CREEK
1.50 MI E OF US 377, Denton, TX
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 63,770
SH 114 EB FR
FairOver: MARSHALL BRANCH CREEK
1.50 MI E OF US 377, Denton, TX
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 63,770
TROPHY CLUB DRIVE
FairOver: SH 114
2.20 MI E OF US 377, Denton, TX
Built 2001 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 3,200
SH 114 WB
FairOver: ALLEN BRANCH
3.5 Mi. W. of FM 156, Denton, TX
Built 2015 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 11,921
SH 121 BUS
FairOver: ELM FK TRINITY RIV W REL
2.05 MI NE OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 1949 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 38,650
SH 121 BUS
FairOver: ELM FORK TRINITY RIVER
2.25 MI NE OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 1949 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 38,650
SH 121 BUS
FairOver: ELM FK TRINITY RIV E REL
2.75 MI NE OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 1949 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 38,650
SH 121 BUS CONN
FairOver: SH 121 BUS
1.80 MI S OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 3,000
FM 3040 WB
FairOver: SH 121 BUS
1.80 MI S OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,000
FM 3040 EB
FairOver: SH 121 BUS
1.80 MI S OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,000
SH 121 BUS
FairOver: TIMBER CREEK
0.80 MI S OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 42,000
SRT SBML
FairOver: CASTLE HILLS /STANDRIDGE
0.8 MI SW OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
SH 121 SBFR
FairOver: BNSF RAILROAD
2.20 MI NE OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2007 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 18,530
SH 121 NBFR
FairOver: BNSF RAILROAD
2.20 MI NE OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2006 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 18,530
SRT NBML
FairOver: BNSF RAILROAD
2.20 MI NE OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
SRT SBML
FairOver: BNSF RAILROAD
2.20 MI NE OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
SRT NBML
FairOver: PLANO PKWY / PAIGE RD
0.85 MI NE OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
SRT SBML
FairOver: PLANO PKWY / PAIGE RD
0.85 MI NE OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
SRT NBML
FairOver: SPRING CREEK PARKWAY
2.40 MI NE OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
SRT SBML
FairOver: SPRING CREEK PARKWAY
2.40 MI NE OF FM 423, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
SH 121 SBML
FairOver: FM 423
6.5 MI NE OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
SH 121 NBML
FairOver: FM 423
6.5 MI NE OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 2009 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,000
FM 156
FairOver: OLIVER CREEK
0.80 MI N OF FM 407, Denton, TX
Built 1983 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 7,165
FM 156
FairOver: ELIZABETH CREEK
2.25 MI NE INTERMODAL PWY, Denton, TX
Built 2010 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 9,080
FM 156
FairOver: TRIB ELIZABETH CREEK
2.94 MI NE INTERMODAL PKY, Denton, TX
Built 2010 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 9,080
FM 455
FairOver: CULP BRANCH
5.55 MI SE OF IH 35, Denton, TX
Built 1985 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 3,803
FM 455
FairOver: BOOM CREEK
1.50 MI W OF FM 2450, Denton, TX
Built 2017 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,500
FM 407
FairOver: LOVING SPRING BRANCH
2.85 MI E OF US 377, Denton, TX
Built 2001 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 3,900
FM 1385
FairOver: MUSTANG CREEK
1.60 MI N OF FM 428 W, Denton, TX
Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,950
FM 720
FairOver: PEACH CREEK
0.33 MI E OF HART RD, Denton, TX
Built 2014 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 35,043
FM 423
FairOver: SOUTH COTTONWOOD BRANCH
6.40 MI N OF SH 121, Denton, TX
Built 2005 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 44,620
FM 423 (MAIN ST)
FairOver: DRAW
1.40 MI N OF SH 121, Denton, TX
Built 2016 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 51,932
FM 1830
FairOver: HICKORY CREEK
1.75 MI S OF US 377, Denton, TX
Built 1980 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 7,757
FM 407 (JUSTIN RD)
FairOver: DRAIN
1.50 MI W OF IH 35E, Denton, TX
Built 2001 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 25,192
FM 2281 NB
FairOver: INDIAN CREEK
1.70 MI S OF SH 121, Denton, TX
Built 1999 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 13,231
FM 2281 SB
FairOver: INDIAN CREEK
1.70 MI S OF SH 121, Denton, TX
Built 1999 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 6,301
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
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.