County profile · official public datasets

Columbia County, WI

183 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 30.1% rated Good, 63.9% Fair, 6% Poor.

183
Public bridges
30.1%
Good condition
6%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Columbia 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.

38th
of 72 on Poor share
6%
Poor-condition share
183
public highway bridges
1977
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.

Columbia County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Columbia County ranks #38 of 72 Wisconsin counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 6%). Columbia County, Wisconsin contains 183 public highway bridges. Roughly 30.1% are rated “Good,” 63.9% “Fair,” and 6% “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

183

Public highway bridges in Columbia County

Good condition

30.1%

55 of 183 rated 7-9

Fair condition

63.9%

117 of 183 rated 5-6

Poor condition

6%

11 of 183 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#38 of 72

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

Condition distribution

Share of 183 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
30.1% (55)
Fair
63.9% (117)
Poor
6% (11)

Columbia County's Poor-condition bridges carry 2,132 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.2% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 6% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 194 crossings a day against 4,801 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 183 of 183 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

51.9% of Columbia County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

95 of the 183 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 30.1% 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 23.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

CTH CM over FOX RIVER, built 1958, carries 500 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 11-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 2,132 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Columbia County's bridges were built

183 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 55 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 30.1% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1977, 7 years older than the Wisconsin average of 1984.

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

How Columbia County compares with Wisconsin's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Wisconsin counties nearest Columbia County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 6% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1977 against a peer-group mean of 1986 is 9 years older.

Showing the 5 closest of 71 Wisconsin counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Columbia County and the 5 Wisconsin counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Columbia County (this page) 183 6%
Jefferson County 182 5.5%
Portage County 182 2.7%
Taylor County 176 11.4%
Juneau County 172 2.9%
Waupaca County 169 3%

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 Columbia 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 Columbia County, both outside Wisconsin so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside WI (183 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside WI (1977 here).

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

All 183 Good 55 Fair 117 Poor 11

All bridges (183)

STH 22-WASHINGTON

Good

Over: DUCK CREEK

0.1M N JCT CTH G, Columbia, WI

Built 1999 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 5,900

CTH CS

Good

Over: IH 39/90/94

TBD, Columbia, WI

Built 2011 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 2,700

CTH P

Good

Over: BRANCH DUCK CREEK

2.2M E JCT CTH SS, Columbia, WI

Built 2010 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 517

IH 39/90/94 NB

Good

Over: STH 60

7.2M W JCT CTH V TO E, Columbia, WI

Built 2023 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 29,000

LRD CLARK ROAD

Good

Over: FOX RIVER

0.6M W JCT CTH F, Columbia, WI

Built 2014 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 532

CTH M

Good

Over: UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD

0.1 MI N JCT CTH E, Columbia, WI

Built 2016 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 161

STH 113

Good

Over: SPRING CREEK

1.7M N JCT STH 60, Columbia, WI

Built 2002 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 1,700

STH 127

Good

Over: BIG SLOUGH

3.7M E JCT CTH AA, Columbia, WI

Built 2006 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 1,800

USH 151 SB

Good

Over: LRD MAPLE AVE

0.8M S JCT STH 16 TO E, Columbia, WI

Built 1976 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 11,350

IH 39

Good

Over: STH 78

0.5M S JCT STH 78 TO S, Columbia, WI

Built 1993 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 10,300

CTH Z

Good

Over: N BR CRAWFISH RIVER

0.8M W JCT CTH CD, Columbia, WI

Built 1966 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 99

USH 51

Good

Over: ROWAN CREEK

3.7M N JCT STH 60 TO W, Columbia, WI

Built 2017 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 4,600

USH 151 SB

Good

Over: STH 73

2.8M S JCT CTH K, Columbia, WI

Built 1991 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 12,250

LRD DUBORG RD

Good

Over: CRAWFISH RIVER

0.5M S JCT STH 16, Columbia, WI

Built 1998 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 152

LRD BLACK RD

Good

Over: IH 39/90/94

1.3 MI. S OF CTH V, Columbia, WI

Built 2009 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 475

LRD HAYNES RD

Good

Over: FOX RIVER

0.1M W JCT STH 44, Columbia, WI

Built 2019 Load: 43.1 t ADT: 370

LRD HALL ROAD

Good

Over: CRAWFISH RIVER

0.9M W JCT STH 16, Columbia, WI

Built 2022 Load: 43.1 t ADT: 130

IH 39

Good

Over: RAMP STH 78N-IH 90 94 W

0.2M S JCT STH 78 TO S, Columbia, WI

Built 1993 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 10,300

LRD MOHR RD

Good

Over: N BR CRAWFISH RIVER

1.4M S JCT CTH A, Columbia, WI

Built 1998 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 62

LRD PLEASANT ST

Good

Over: SPRING CREEK

0.1M W JCT STH 113, Columbia, WI

Built 2007 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 3,448

LRD BOELTE RD

Good

Over: CRAWFISH RIVER

0.9M N JCT STH 60, Columbia, WI

Built 2008 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 52

CTH K

Good

Over: CRAWFISH R

0.2 MILE EAST OF CTH A, Columbia, WI

Built 2008 Load: 47.0 t ADT: 488

CTH A

Poor

Over: UNION PACIFIC RR

1.0M W JCT STH 73, Columbia, WI

Built 1910 Load: 3.2 t ADT: 197

LRD HALL RD

Poor

Over: CRAWFISH RIVER

1.3M E JCT CTH A, Columbia, WI

Built 1961 Load: 8.1 t ADT: 56

LRD KOWALD RD

Poor

Over: FOX RIVER

1.1M E JCT CTH H, Columbia, WI

Built 1930 Load: 9.7 t ADT: 31

LRD MILL ST

Poor

Over: UNION PACIFIC RR

0.1M W JCT STH 60, Columbia, WI

Built 1900 Load: 16.2 t ADT: 79

CTH K

Poor

Over: ROBBINS CREEK

2.8M W JCT USH 151, Columbia, WI

Built 1936 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 196

LRD STERK RD

Poor

Over: UNION PACIFIC RR

1.1M S JCT CTH E, Columbia, WI

Built 1930 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 67

LRD INGLEHART RD

Poor

Over: UNION PACIFIC RR

0.7M N JCT CTH E, Columbia, WI

Built 1930 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 81

LRD HILL RD (DEAD

Poor

Over: MID BR DUCK CREEK

1.9M E JCT STH 22, Columbia, WI

Built 1968 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 4

CTH VJ

Poor

Over: ROCKY RUN CREEK

0.8M E JCT CTH J, Columbia, WI

Built 1956 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 470

CTH CM

Poor

Over: FOX RIVER

0.1M E JCT CTH T, Columbia, WI

Built 1958 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 500

CTH X

Poor

Over: BIG SLOUGH

2.6M S JCT CTH AA, Columbia, WI

Built 1958 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 451

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.