Total bridges
144
Public highway bridges in Karnes County
County profile · official public datasets
Karnes County, TX
144 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 43.8% rated Good, 54.9% Fair, 1.4% Poor.
- 144
- Public bridges
- 43.8%
- Good condition
- 1.4%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Karnes County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.
- 154th
- of 247 on Poor share
- 1.4%
- Poor-condition share
- 144
- public highway bridges
- 1963
- 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.
Karnes County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Karnes County ranks #154 of 247 Texas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 1.4%). Karnes County, Texas contains 144 public highway bridges. Roughly 43.8% are rated “Good,” 54.9% “Fair,” and 1.4% “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
43.8%
63 of 144 rated 7-9
Fair condition
54.9%
79 of 144 rated 5-6
Poor condition
1.4%
2 of 144 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#154 of 247
Among Texas counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 144 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 43.8% (63)
Fair 54.9% (79)
Poor 1.4% (2)
Karnes County's Poor-condition bridges carry 190 vehicle crossings a day
That is 0.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 1.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 95 crossings a day against 2,348 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 144 of 144 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
68.1% of Karnes County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
98 of the 144 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 43.8% 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 52.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
CR 326 over SAN ANTONIO RIVER, built 1973, carries 100 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 190 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Karnes County's bridges were built
144 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s
1920–1929
11 bridges
- 1930s
1930–1939
27 bridges
- 1940s
1940–1949
22 bridges
- 1950s
1950–1959
20 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
14 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
13 bridges
- 1980s 8
1980–1989
8 bridges
- 1990s 6
1990–1999
6 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
13 bridges
- 2010s 5
2010–2019
5 bridges
- 2020s 5
2020–2029
5 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1930s, when 27 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 18.8% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 85 to 94 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1963, 17 years older than the Texas average of 1980.
How Karnes County compares with Texas's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Texas counties nearest Karnes County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 1.4% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1963 against a peer-group mean of 1967 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 246 Texas counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosque County | 145 | 45.5% | 53.1% | 1.4% | 1959 |
| Cass County | 145 | 44.1% | 55.9% | 0% | 1967 |
| Fisher County | 145 | 46.9% | 48.3% | 4.8% | 1962 |
| Ector County | 144 | 38.2% | 61.8% | 0% | 1974 |
| Howard County | 144 | 36.1% | 63.2% | 0.7% | 1974 |
| Karnes County (this page) | 144 | 43.8% | 54.9% | 1.4% | 1963 |
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 Karnes 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 Karnes County, both outside Texas so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside TX (144 bridges here).
- Muscatine County, IA · 144 bridges
- Anderson County, KS · 144 bridges
- Webster County, KY · 144 bridges
- Muskegon County, MI · 144 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside TX (1963 here).
- Worcester County, MA · avg 1963 · 1,014 bridges
- Honolulu County, HI · avg 1963 · 682 bridges
- Chester County, PA · avg 1963 · 680 bridges
- Essex County, NJ · avg 1963 · 505 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (79)
FM 1353
FairOver: ESCONDIDO CREEK
2.7 MI SW OF US 181, Karnes, TX
Built 1925 Load: 13.6 t ADT: 738
US 181
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER
0.5 MI SE OF FM 791, Karnes, TX
Built 1961 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 9,018
SH 80
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER RELIEF
0.9 MI SW OF FM 81, Karnes, TX
Built 1949 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 5,954
FM 792
FairOver: DRY ESCONDIDO CREEK
3.1 MI N OF SH 72, Karnes, TX
Built 1949 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 4,681
CR 330
FairOver: COW HOLLOW CREEK
1.15 MI E OF FM 743, Karnes, TX
Built 1925 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 115
US 181
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER DRAW
0.4 MI NW OF FM 791, Karnes, TX
Built 1929 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 9,219
US 181
FairOver: COW CREEK
5.1 MI NW OF FM 1144, Karnes, TX
Built 1929 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 7,113
US 181
FairOver: COW CREEK DRAW
3.25 MI NW OF FM 1144, Karnes, TX
Built 1926 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 7,113
SH 72
FairOver: PANTHER CREEK
3.40 MI E OF US 181, Karnes, TX
Built 1937 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 6,650
SH 80
FairOver: ECLETO CREEK DRAW
4.6 MI S OF SH 119, Karnes, TX
Built 1930 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 4,338
SH 80
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER DRAW
0.6 MI SW OF FM 81, Karnes, TX
Built 1929 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 5,954
SH 80
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER DRAW
0.35 MI SW OF FM 792, Karnes, TX
Built 1929 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 3,939
SH 123
FairOver: MANKA LAKE SLOUGH
3.8 MI N OF SH 80, Karnes, TX
Built 1939 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 3,174
SH 123
FairOver: DRAW
2.70 MI N OF SH 80, Karnes, TX
Built 1939 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 3,174
FM 81
FairOver: DRAW
1.3 MI S OF US 181, Karnes, TX
Built 1949 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 429
FM 791
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER
2.4 MI SW OF FM 887, Karnes, TX
Built 1949 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 938
FM 791
FairOver: SCARED DOG CREEK
3.7 MI SW OF FM 887, Karnes, TX
Built 1949 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 1,624
FM 81
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER
0.6 MI E OF US 181, Karnes, TX
Built 1949 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 1,818
FM 2102
FairOver: WEEDY CREEK
2.9 MI SE OF FM 99, Karnes, TX
Built 1965 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 925
US 181
FairOver: MEDIO CREEK DRAW
3.0 MI S OF FM 2509, Karnes, TX
Built 1956 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 5,068
US 181
FairOver: FM 2509 & NICHOLS CREEK
1.3 MI S OF FM 1145, Karnes, TX
Built 1957 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 5,469
BUSINESS US 181
FairOver: ESCONDIDO CREEK
0.3 MI SE OF FM 719, Karnes, TX
Built 1924 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 4,680
US 181 BUS
FairOver: NICHOLS CREEK
0.10 MI S OF FM 2509, Karnes, TX
Built 1957 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 2,520
SH 72
FairOver: OJO DE AGUA DRAW
0.3 MI E OF FM 81, Karnes, TX
Built 1929 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 5,670
SH 72
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER RELIEF
2.75 MI SW OF FM 81, Karnes, TX
Built 1949 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 4,986
SH 72
FairOver: PANTHER CREEK DRAW
4.35 MI W OF US 181, Karnes, TX
Built 1937 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 6,650
SH 72
FairOver: SULPHUR CREEK DRAW
1.7 MI E OF FM 626, Karnes, TX
Built 1937 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 5,853
SH 80
FairOver: DEES BRANCH
2.9 MI S OF SH 119, Karnes, TX
Built 1930 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 4,338
SH 80
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER
1.3 MI SW OF FM 81, Karnes, TX
Built 1930 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 5,954
FM 99
FairOver: SAND HOLLOW DRAW
1.3 MI EAST OF FM 2102, Karnes, TX
Built 1941 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,400
FM 99
FairOver: SAND HOLLOW
0.40 MI EAST OF FM 2102, Karnes, TX
Built 1941 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,400
FM 99
FairOver: SAND HOLLOW DRAW
0.40 MI WEST OF FM 2102, Karnes, TX
Built 1941 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,400
SH 239
FairOver: DRAW
8.8 MI SE OF SH 72, Karnes, TX
Built 1939 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,952
FM 81
FairOver: SALT CREEK
6.5 MI SE OF SH 80, Karnes, TX
Built 1947 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 3,100
FM 81
FairOver: DRAW
4.8 MI SE OF SH 80, Karnes, TX
Built 1940 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 2,416
FM 627
FairOver: ECLETO CREEK
1.1 MI W OF SH 80, Karnes, TX
Built 1950 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,504
FM 743
FairOver: POSSUM HOLLOW
3.8 MI SE OF SH 72 BUS, Karnes, TX
Built 1937 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 135
FM 792
FairOver: DRAW
1.4 MI S OF SH 80, Karnes, TX
Built 1939 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 3,111
FM 792
FairOver: DRAW
0.5 MI S OF SH 80, Karnes, TX
Built 1939 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 3,111
FM 81
FairOver: CIBOLO CREEK
2.5 MI E OF SH 123, Karnes, TX
Built 1986 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 2,468
FM 1144
FairOver: TURKEY CREEK
1.7 MI W OF US 181, Karnes, TX
Built 1940 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,546
FM 719
FairOver: DRAW
0.15 MI NE OF US 181, Karnes, TX
Built 1955 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 2,083
FM 2102
FairOver: PANTHER CREEK
0.8 MI W OF SH 72, Karnes, TX
Built 1942 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,831
FM 2102
FairOver: DOE CREEK
2.3 MI W OF SH 72, Karnes, TX
Built 1942 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,866
FM 2102
FairOver: BUCKER CREEK
2.1 MI SW OF FM 1353, Karnes, TX
Built 1942 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 846
CR 103
FairOver: SAN ANTONIO RIVER TRIB
3.8 MI NW OF FM 81, Karnes, TX
Built 1976 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 55
CR 103
FairOver: CHICKEN CREEK
2.5 MI NW OF FM 81, Karnes, TX
Built 1968 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 55
CR 112
FairOver: DRAW
0.55 MI SE OF FM 1020, Karnes, TX
Built 1981 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 180
CR 122
FairOver: OJO DE AGUA CREEK
0.05 MI S OF FM 885, Karnes, TX
Built 1970 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 158
CR 237
FairOver: DRAW
0.4 MI NE OF E MEYER ST, Karnes, TX
Built 1965 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 140
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.