County profile · official public datasets

Sawyer County, WI

97 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 44.3% rated Good, 43.3% Fair, 12.4% Poor.

97
Public bridges
44.3%
Good condition
12.4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

66th
of 72 on Poor share
12.4%
Poor-condition share
97
public highway bridges
1987
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.

Sawyer County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Sawyer County ranks #66 of 72 Wisconsin counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 12.4%). Sawyer County, Wisconsin contains 97 public highway bridges. Roughly 44.3% are rated “Good,” 43.3% “Fair,” and 12.4% “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.

Total bridges

97

Public highway bridges in Sawyer County

Good condition

44.3%

43 of 97 rated 7-9

Fair condition

43.3%

42 of 97 rated 5-6

Poor condition

12.4%

12 of 97 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#66 of 72

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

Condition distribution

Share of 97 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
44.3% (43)
Fair
43.3% (42)
Poor
12.4% (12)

Sawyer County's Poor-condition bridges carry 19,469 vehicle crossings a day

That is 28.5% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 12.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,622 crossings a day against 477 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 97 of 97 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

26.8% of Sawyer County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

26 of the 97 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 44.3% 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 69.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

STH 27 over NAMEKAGON RIVER, built 1996, carries 13,500 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 12-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 19,469 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Sawyer County's bridges were built

97 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 26 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 26.8% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1987) matches the Wisconsin average (1984).

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

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

The 5 Wisconsin counties nearest Sawyer County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 12.4% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1987 against a peer-group mean of 1988 is in line with the group.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Sawyer County and the 5 Wisconsin counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Kenosha County 109 3.7%
Ozaukee County 105 2.9%
Price County 104 10.6%
Bayfield County 103 4.9%
Sawyer County (this page) 97 12.4%
Kewaunee County 93 5.4%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside WI (97 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside WI (1987 here).

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

All 97 Good 43 Fair 42 Poor 12

Good-condition bridges (43)

STH 48

Good

Over: BADGER CREEK

5.0M E JCT CTH C, Sawyer, WI

Built 1970 Load: 24.3 t ADT: 660

LRD FISHTRAP RD

Good

Over: E FK CHIPPEWA RIVER

2.3M N JCT CTH B, Sawyer, WI

Built 1985 Load: 27.5 t ADT: 135

STH 27

Good

Over: NAIL CREEK

5.9M N JCT CTH J TO E, Sawyer, WI

Built 1990 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,500

CTH M

Good

Over: S FK FLAMBEAU RIVER

7.9M S JCT CTH B, Sawyer, WI

Built 2003 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 447

CTH T

Good

Over: SMITH CREEK

0.2 M E OF STH 27, Sawyer, WI

Built 2012 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 801

CTH S

Good

Over: TEAL RIVER

4.0M S. STH 77, Sawyer, WI

Built 1925 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 54

LRD TAG ALDER ROAD

Good

Over: NAMEKAGON RIVER

0.7M W JCT USH 63, Sawyer, WI

Built 2022 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 50

LRD HANSON RD (DEA

Good

Over: BRUNET RIVER

0.25M E JCT OLD CTH J RD, Sawyer, WI

Built 2018 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 30

LRD LITKE DR

Good

Over: CHIPPEWA RIVER 26

0.1M E JCT STH 40, Sawyer, WI

Built 1991 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 54

LRD HARVEST LANE

Good

Over: THIRTY THREE CREEK

1.5M N JCT STH 48, Sawyer, WI

Built 2018 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 100

FR174

Good

Over: LITTLE MOOSE RIVER

3.4 M. S. JCT STH 77, Sawyer, WI

Built 1952 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 40

LRD OLD 70 RD

Good

Over: CHIPPEWA RIVER 27

1.3M W JCT STH 40, Sawyer, WI

Built 1983 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 162

LRD PASANEN RD

Good

Over: BRUNET RIVER

0.5M N JCT CTH D, Sawyer, WI

Built 1989 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 81

CTH F

Good

Over: CHETAC FLOWAGE

0.4M N JCT STH 48, Sawyer, WI

Built 1998 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 895

LRD CTH EE

Good

Over: PINE CREEK

TOWN OF DRAPER, Sawyer, WI

Built 1998 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 325

LRD BLUEBERRY AVE

Good

Over: CHIPPEWA FLOWAGE

0.4M W OF CTH H, Sawyer, WI

Built 2017 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 200

STH 40

Good

Over: COUDERAY RIVER

7.5M N JCT STH 48, Sawyer, WI

Built 2017 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 420

CTH CC

Good

Over: CHIPPEWA FLOWAGE

4.7M N JCT CTH H, Sawyer, WI

Built 2015 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 550

STH 27-STH 70

Good

Over: KING CREEK

4.2M N JCT STH 70 TO E, Sawyer, WI

Built 1964 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 1,300

STH 48-MAIN ST

Good

Over: WEIRGOR CREEK

0.4M E JCT CTH C TO S, Sawyer, WI

Built 1994 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 660

LRD MOSSBACK RD

Good

Over: NAMEKAGON RIVER

1.0M W JCT USH 63, Sawyer, WI

Built 2003 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 42

LRD IRR (THOROUGHF

Good

Over: LAKE CHANNEL

1.3M W JCT CTH E, Sawyer, WI

Built 2008 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 104

LRD TIGER CAT RD

Good

Over: TIGER CAT FLOWAGE

3.5 MI N. OF JCT CTH B, Sawyer, WI

Built 2011 Load: 37.3 t ADT: 207

FR 199

Good

Over: MORGAN FALLS CREEK

7.4 M. S. JCT CTH E, Sawyer, WI

Built 2006 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 40

LRD MANSKY RD

Good

Over: WEIRGOR CREEK

0.3M W JCT STH 40, Sawyer, WI

Built 2003 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 45

LRD OLD HWY 70

Good

Over: KENYON CREEK

0.2M E JCT STH 27, Sawyer, WI

Built 2003 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 42

LRD KENYON CREEK R

Good

Over: KENYEN CREEK

1.5M N JCT CTH D, Sawyer, WI

Built 2005 Load: 38.9 t ADT: 21

CTH GG

Good

Over: BRUNET RIVER

2.4 MI N OF JCT STH 70, Sawyer, WI

Built 2014 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 236

LRD CLOVER RD

Good

Over: CHIPPEWA RIVER 31

6.4M N JCT STH 70, Sawyer, WI

Built 1996 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 43

LRD TOWNLINE RD

Good

Over: KENYON CREEK

1.9 MI W OF STH 27, Sawyer, WI

Built 2015 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 100

USH 63

Good

Over: NAMEKAGON RIVER

5.5M N JCT STH 77 TO E, Sawyer, WI

Built 1976 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 3,900

LRD BARKER LAKE RD

Good

Over: E FK CHIPPEWA RIVER

1.7M N JCT CTH B, Sawyer, WI

Built 2003 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 194

STH 70

Good

Over: BRUNET RIVER

2.7M E JCT CTH B, Sawyer, WI

Built 1999 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 1,700

LRD PINE POINT RD

Good

Over: W FK CHIPPEWA RIVER

1.2M E JCT CTH S, Sawyer, WI

Built 2005 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 178

STH 27

Good

Over: BRUNET RIVER

3.0M N JCT CTH D, Sawyer, WI

Built 1990 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 1,500

LRD E SHORE DR

Good

Over: KNUTESON CREEK

2.0M N JCT STH 48, Sawyer, WI

Built 1992 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 189

STH 27-STH 70

Good

Over: CHIPPEWA RIVER 28

1.2M N JCT STH 70 TO E, Sawyer, WI

Built 2008 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 1,300

STH 70

Good

Over: THORNAPPLE RIVER

2.0M E JCT CTH EE, Sawyer, WI

Built 1999 Load: 47.0 t ADT: 960

LRD IRVINE DR

Good

Over: KENYON CREEK

2.1M W JCT STH 27, Sawyer, WI

Built 2008 Load: 48.6 t ADT: 104

CTH E

Good

Over: COUDERAY RIVER

0.6M W JCT CTH N, Sawyer, WI

Built 2021 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 840

LRD SUNDLING RD

Good

Over: BRUNET RIVER

0.2M E JCT STH 70, Sawyer, WI

Built 2008 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 20

FR174

Good

Over: W. FK. CHIPPEWA RIVER

1.0 M. S. JCT STH 77, Sawyer, WI

Built 1997 Load: 54.1 t ADT: 40

LRD MOOSE LAKE RD

Good

Over: W FORK CHIPPEWA R

0.1 MI E OF CTH S, Sawyer, WI

Built 2010 Load: 58.6 t ADT: 235

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

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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.