Total bridges
48
Public highway bridges in Hale County
County profile · official public datasets
48 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 41.7% rated Good, 58.3% Fair, 0% Poor.
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Hale County posts a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across rated county bridge inventory.
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.
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Hale County ranks #55 of 247 Texas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 0%). Hale County, Texas contains 48 public highway bridges. Roughly 41.7% are rated “Good,” 58.3% “Fair,” and 0% “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
48
Public highway bridges in Hale County
Good condition
41.7%
20 of 48 rated 7-9
Fair condition
58.3%
28 of 48 rated 5-6
Poor condition
0%
0 of 48 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#55 of 247
Among Texas counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Share of 48 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
18 of the 48 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 41.7% 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.
48 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
1920–1929
2 bridges
1930–1939
1 bridges
1940–1949
2 bridges
1950–1959
2 bridges
1960–1969
8 bridges
1970–1979
3 bridges
1980–1989
26 bridges
1990–1999
1 bridges
2010–2019
2 bridges
2020–2029
1 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 26 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 54.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1976) matches the Texas average (1980).
The 5 Texas counties nearest Hale County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 0% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1976 against a peer-group mean of 1961 is 15 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 246 Texas counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garza County | 51 | 27.5% | 72.5% | 0% | 1962 |
| Hutchinson County | 50 | 28% | 72% | 0% | 1968 |
| Irion County | 50 | 44% | 54% | 2% | 1944 |
| Oldham County | 50 | 42% | 58% | 0% | 1963 |
| Stonewall County | 50 | 38% | 62% | 0% | 1970 |
| Hale County (this page) | 48 | 41.7% | 58.3% | 0% | 1976 |
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 Hale County's. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
Two NBI-derived peer sets for Hale County, both outside Texas so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Nearest county inventories outside TX (48 bridges here).
Nearest mean year-built outside TX (1976 here).
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
0.4 MI N OF FM 3466, Hale, TX
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
0.8 MI W OF IH 27, Hale, TX
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
0.4 MI S OF US 70, Hale, TX
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
0.5 MI S OF US 70, Hale, TX
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
1.8 MI S OF FM 2881, Hale, TX
Over: DRAINAGE DITCH
0.2 MI W OF IH 27, Hale, TX
Over: CALLAHAN DRAW
0.6 MI N OF FM 2883, Hale, TX
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
3.3 MI N OF US 70, Hale, TX
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
0.40 MI S OF US 70, Hale, TX
Over: SH 194 & BN RR
1.90 Mi N of US 70, Hale, TX
Over: IH 27 & BNSF RR
3.2 Mi N of SH 194, Hale, TX
Over: IH 27
1.3 MI N OF US 70, Hale, TX
Over: IH 27
0.8 MI NE OF SH 194, Hale, TX
Over: IH 27
2.15 MI NE OF SH 194, Hale, TX
Over: IH 27
FM 1914 @ IH 27, Hale, TX
Over: IH 27
4.7 Mi S of US 70, Hale, TX
Over: IH 27
3.35 Mi S of FM 54, Hale, TX
Over: FM 54
3.30 Mi N of FM 2060, Hale, TX
Over: FM 54
3.30 Mi N of FM 2060, Hale, TX
Over: FM 1424
1.40 Mi S of FM 1914, Hale, TX
Over: BNSF RR
0.3 MI E OF FM 400, Hale, TX
Over: Callahan Draw
5.8 Mi N of FM 1914, Hale, TX
Over: Callahan Draw
5.8 Mi N of FM 1914, Hale, TX
Over: 12th St (FR Crossover)
0.30 Mi N of FM 1914, Hale, TX
Over: N LOOP 369
2.70 Mi S of FM 54, Hale, TX
Over: IH 27 FR Crossover
0.66 Mi S of FM 1914, Hale, TX
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
0.45 MI S OF US 70, Hale, TX
Over: RUNNING WATER DRAW
0.45 MI S OF US 70, Hale, TX
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
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.