State profile · Below median Poor share

California bridge safety

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, condition ratings, load ratings, and Poor-condition shares for every public highway bridge in California.

25,848
Public bridges
45.6%
Good condition
5.9%
Poor condition

California holds 25,848 public highway bridges (#4 of 52 by inventory) with a 5.91% Poor share (#28 of 52 by Poor share).

That is 5.9% of the state's inventory, against an average of 7.5% across the 54 states and territories with Poor-rated bridges on file, which places it 25 of 54 ordered from the lowest Poor share upward. A bridge is rated Poor when its weakest applicable component scores 4 or below on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, so the category is a maintenance and funding signal rather than a closure order or a live crossing-safety verdict.

Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026

Total Bridges

25,848

Public highway bridges in California

Good Condition

45.6%

11,798 bridges rated 7-9

-4.4pp vs 50% benchmark

Poor Condition

5.9%

1,527 bridges whose lowest applicable component is rated 0-4

-1.6pp vs national avg 7.5%

California vs national bridge condition

California - Good condition share 45.6%
National avg

Share of bridges rated 7-9 on the FHWA 0-9 scale (deck, superstructure, substructure all good).

California - Poor-condition share 19.7%
National avg

Lower is better. Bar maxes at 30% (worst-state ceiling). National average sits at 7.5%.

California in the national condition pattern

Each point is a state or territory in the FHWA NBI; the highlighted point is this profile.

Inventory size and Poor-condition share are different measures: California has 25,848 bridges and a 5.9% Poor-condition share in the 2024 NBI, rank #25 of 54 jurisdictions ordered from the lowest share upward. The dashed comparisons mark the national average state rate and the midpoint of the plotted inventory range; neither is a live safety or closure threshold. Scatter plot of 54 data points. 0%10%20%30%40% 0k20k40k60k Public bridges in inventory (thousands) Poor-condition share (%) CA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 25.8k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.91%AL, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 16.2k · Poor-condition share (%): 3.35%AK, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 1.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.89%AZ, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 8.6k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.15%AR, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 13k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.43%CO, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 9k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.82%CT, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 4.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.72%DE, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.26%DC, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.95%FL, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 13k · Poor-condition share (%): 2.79%GA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 15.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.59%GU, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0k · Poor-condition share (%): 12.77%HI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 1.2k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.53%ID, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 4.6k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.9%IL, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 26.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 9.35%IN, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 19.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.22%IA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 23.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 19.16%KS, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 24.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.26%KY, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 14.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.37%LA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 12.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 11.48%ME, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 15.41%MD, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.56%MA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 8.88%MI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 11.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 11.27%MN, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 13.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.44%MS, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 16.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.03%MO, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 24.6k · Poor-condition share (%): 8.95%MT, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.2k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.81%NE, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 15.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.9%NV, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.14%NH, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.51%NJ, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 6.8k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.01%NM, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 4k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.51%NY, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 17.6k · Poor-condition share (%): 9.43%NC, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 19.2k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.76%ND, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 4.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 10.98%OH, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 26.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.74%OK, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 22.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.7%OR, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 8.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.61%PA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 23.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 12.58%PR, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 13.92%RI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0.8k · Poor-condition share (%): 15.2%SC, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 9.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.17%SD, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 16.36%TN, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 20.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.41%TX, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 56.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.23%UT, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 3.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 2.91%VT, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 2.9%VI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0k · Poor-condition share (%): 29.17%VA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 14.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 3.39%WA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 8.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.45%WV, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 7.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 18.64%WI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 14.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.52%WY, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 3.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.51%
Inventory size and Poor-condition share are different measures: California has 25,848 bridges and a 5.9% Poor-condition share in the 2024 NBI, rank #25 of 54 jurisdictions ordered from the lowest share upward. The dashed comparisons mark the national average state rate and the midpoint of the plotted inventory range; neither is a live safety or closure threshold.

California vs all states by public bridge inventory

Where this state's FHWA NBI public-highway bridge count sits among every state and territory on PlainBridges

25,848 4th of 54 higher than 50 of 54 states

States and territories, banded by public bridge inventory size

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source FHWA National Bridge Inventory · 2024

Read the rank neighborhood for California

The highlighted point is California: 25,848 bridges and 5.91% in Poor condition, rank #25 of 54 jurisdictions ordered from the lowest share upward. The five jurisdictions immediately above and below California on that same Poor-share ordering:

  • Arkansas: 12,974 bridges · 5.43% Poor
  • Washington: 8,474 bridges · 5.45% Poor
  • California: 25,848 bridges · 5.91% Poor
  • New Jersey: 6,827 bridges · 6.01% Poor
  • Mississippi: 16,739 bridges · 6.03% Poor

The full national sortable table lives on the rankings page.

Material families in California

Exclusive FHWA material families across all 25,848 bridges in this state; continuous variants fold into the parent family. Orthogonal to the Poor-share scatter above.

Who maintains California’s inventory

State agency holds 48.8% of the 25,848 public highway bridges filed under California in the 2024 NBI, the agency-of-record split for this state, not a condition verdict.

When California’s bridges were built

Pre-1950 construction accounts for 15.5% of the 25,848 bridges with a recorded original year in California. Era bands are orthogonal to the Poor-share ranking above.

Condition Distribution

California45.6%48.4%GoodFairPoor
Bridge inventory deck-condition mix - California (FHWA NBI)

Counties (58)

Alameda 658 Alpine 32 Amador 61 Butte 437 Calaveras 105 Colusa 211 Contra Costa 618 Del Norte 96 El Dorado 192 Fresno 916 Glenn 242 Humboldt 396 Imperial 444 Inyo 66 Kern 668 Kings 168 Lake 129 Lassen 108 Los Angeles 3547 Madera 247 Marin 207 Mariposa 109 Mendocino 357 Merced 528 Modoc 87 Mono 49 Monterey 377 Napa 158 Nevada 135 Orange 1164 Placer 337 Plumas 165 Riverside 1117 Sacramento 740 San Benito 76 San Bernardino 1422 San Diego 1632 San Francisco 143 San Joaquin 644 San Luis Obispo 401 San Mateo 361 Santa Barbara 418 Santa Clara 964 Santa Cruz 192 Shasta 492 Sierra 65 Siskiyou 421 Solano 373 Sonoma 609 Stanislaus 386 Sutter 121 Tehama 450 Trinity 194 Tulare 589 Tuolumne 125 Ventura 501 Yolo 271 Yuba 127

California vs nearby ranks

Adjacent states by Poor-condition share (lower share = better)

States are ranked by the share of bridges whose lowest applicable component rating is 4 or below. This describes recorded condition; it does not measure funding effectiveness or live crossing safety. States here sit immediately above and below California on the same metric.

AR

Arkansas

5.43% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$12,974

WA

Washington

5.45% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$8,474
Selected

CA

California

5.91% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$25,848

NJ

New Jersey

6.01% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$6,827

MS

Mississippi

6.03% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$16,739

Bridges Needing Most Attention in California

Six lowest-condition bridges in California, ranked by the portal's composite display score. Inspection intervals are risk-based under current NBIS rules.

OLD COTTONWOOD CR

Poor

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

0.2 MI E/O COTTONWOOD CK, Siskiyou, CA

Built 1957 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 10

STATE ROUTE 211

Poor

Over: EEL RIVER

01-HUM-211-78.10, Humboldt, CA

Built 1911 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 5,300

CR 305 (MAPES RD)

Poor

Over: HARTSON SLOUGH

0.4 MI E/O RD 303, Lassen, CA

Built 1978 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 100

CR 111 (PITTVILLE)

Poor

Over: BEAVER CREEK

1.0 MI S OF CR 404, Lassen, CA

Built 1975 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 100

RD 424 (BASSETT)

Poor

Over: WILLOW CREEK

1.5 MI N OF RD A-2, Lassen, CA

Built 1960 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 120

CR417 (PUNKIN CTR)

Poor

Over: MUDDY SLOUGH NO 1

2.8 MI S OF CR A2, Lassen, CA

Built 1955 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 200

All Bridges in California

SOUTH PERIMETER RO

Fair

Over: WATER CHANNEL

Bridge located across fli, Riverside, CA

Built 1956 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 4

IRIS ROAD

Fair

Over: DRAINAGE CHANNEL

Approximately 500 feet we, Riverside, CA

Built 1940 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 3,000

COUNTY ROAD 316

Fair

Over: SHELLY CREEK

9.3 MI N OF US HWY 199, Del Norte, CA

Built 1975 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 50

INTERSTATE 5 NB

Fair

Over: STATE ROUTE 265

02-SIS-005-R19.85-WEED, Siskiyou, CA

Built 1973 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 7,150

IRR CO RD 87

Fair

Over: PIT RIVER SLOUGH

0.2 MI NE LKOUT HKMORE RD, Modoc, CA

Built 1955 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 350

STATE ROUTE 254

Fair

Over: SOUTH FORK EEL RIVER

01-HUM-254-20.64, Humboldt, CA

Built 1931 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 460

U.S. HIGHWAY 101

Fair

Over: SOUTH FORK EEL RIVER

01-HUM-101-27.71, Humboldt, CA

Built 1962 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 5,000

PRICE CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: SWEET CREEK

3.4 MI W BLUE SLIDE RD, Humboldt, CA

Built 1959 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 39

SWIFT CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: NORTH FORK SWIFT CREEK

1.0 MI W OF STATE RTE 3, Trinity, CA

Built 1972 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 75

OLD ALTURAS RD

Fair

Over: STILLWATER CREEK

0.1 MI E OREGON TRAIL RD, Shasta, CA

Built 1979 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 4,130

SOUR GRASS ROAD

Fair

Over: INTERSTATE 5

02-TEH-005-R3.52, Tehama, CA

Built 1966 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 100

HALL ROAD

Fair

Over: MCCLURE CREEK

0.85 MI S OF GYLE ROAD, Tehama, CA

Built 1952 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 2,400

CLOVER RD

Fair

Over: WILLITS CREEK

0.02 MI S BIRCH ST, Mendocino, CA

Built 1967 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 850

RICHVALE HWY

Fair

Over: CHEROKEE CANAL BYPASS

1.05 MI E MIDWAY RD, Butte, CA

Built 1960 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 1,191

LUMPKIN ROAD

Fair

Over: SOUTH FORK FEATHER RIVER

3 MI FORBESTOWN RD, Butte, CA

Built 1967 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 855

BANGOR HWY

Fair

Over: WEST BRANCH HONCUT CREEK

6.7 MI N LAPORTE RD, Butte, CA

Built 1965 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 1,279

HAMILTON NORD CANA

Fair

Over: ROCK CREEK

3.0 MI N OF SH 32, Butte, CA

Built 1967 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 694

FOUR MILE RD

Fair

Over: HUNTERS CREEK

0.5 MI N OF DELEVAN RD, Colusa, CA

Built 1950 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 18

JENSEN AVE

Fair

Over: TEHAMA-COLUSA CANAL

0.3 MI S OF HILLGATE RD, Colusa, CA

Built 1976 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 124

REDDINGTON AVE

Fair

Over: TEHAMA-COLUSA CANAL

0.4 MI S OF HILLGATE RD, Colusa, CA

Built 1976 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 135

WILDWOOD RD

Fair

Over: TEHAMA-COLUSA CANAL

0.2 MI S OF WAGNER RD, Colusa, CA

Built 1976 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 1,018

BROAD ST

Fair

Over: STATE ROUTE 20

03-NEV-020-R16.99-NEVC, Nevada, CA

Built 1967 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 7,000

STATE ROUTE 89

Fair

Over: PROSSER CREEK

03-NEV-089-4.87, Nevada, CA

Built 1961 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 4,000

MARK WEST STA RD

Fair

Over: WINDSOR CREEK

1.2 MI E OF TRE-HEALDS RD, Sonoma, CA

Built 1976 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 400

DUNAWEAL LANE

Fair

Over: NAPA RIVER

0.2 MI N/E SH 29, Napa, CA

Built 1965 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 1,483

AIR BASE PKWY

Fair

Over: UP RR BNSF RY & AMTRAK

3 MI E/O I-80 INTERCHANGE, Solano, CA

Built 1954 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 25,330

LA MANCHA WAY

Fair

Over: ELDER CREEK

0.3 MI N OF MACK RD, Sacramento, CA

Built 1958 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 5,712

ARDEN WAY

Fair

Over: CHICKEN RANCH SLOUGH

0.1 MI EAST OF HOWE AVE, Sacramento, CA

Built 1965 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 29,666

MALCOLM-DIXON ROAD

Fair

Over: NEW YORK CREEK

0.2 MI E SALMON FALLS RD, El Dorado, CA

Built 1932 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 963

MT MCKINLEY RD

Fair

Over: MILLER CREEK

LUCAS VLY RD INTERSECTION, Marin, CA

Built 1963 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 800

NORTH GATE ROAD

Fair

Over: PINE CREEK

AT CASTLE ROCK ROAD, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1970 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 3,500

INTERSTATE 5 SB

Fair

Over: PARADISE CUT

10-SJ-005-R12.99, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1947 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 143,000

INTERSTATE 5 SB

Fair

Over: BEAR CREEK

10-SJ-005-34.26, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1975 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 38,500

INTERSTATE 5 SB

Fair

Over: WOODBRIDGE ROAD

10-SJ-005-42.67, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1979 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 26,500

BACON ISLAND ROAD

Fair

Over: MIDDLE RIVER

1.3 MI N/O W LOW JONES RD, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1995 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 480

EL DORADO ST

Fair

Over: CALAVERAS RIVER

0.5 MI N FULTON ST, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1962 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 32,411

DRAIS ROAD

Fair

Over: SOUTH BRANCH DUCK CREEK

STATE HIGHWAY 4, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1961 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 231

ROCK RIVER ROAD

Fair

Over: DRY CREEK

2 MI S GREEN SPRINGS RD, Tuolumne, CA

Built 1937 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 75

ROUTE 580

Fair

Over: ESTUDILLO AVENUE

04-ALA-580-R34.48-SLN, Alameda, CA

Built 1964 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 140,000

STATE ROUTE 13 NB

Fair

Over: CALAVERAS AVE

04-ALA-013-4.32-OAK, Alameda, CA

Built 1965 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 47,000

BEAR CRK RD

Fair

Over: SAN LORENZO RIVER

AT STATE ROUTE 9, Santa Cruz, CA

Built 1954 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 5,000

STATE ROUTE 17

Fair

Over: INTERSTATE 280 & RAMPS

04-SCL-017-13.93-SJS, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1971 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 184,800

KEYES ST

Fair

Over: COYOTE CREEK

1 MI E OF 2ND ST, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1954 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 32,111

LAMBERT AVE

Fair

Over: MATADERO CREEK

E MIRAMONTE AVE, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1951 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 2,500

CARPENTER ROAD

Fair

Over: T.I.D. LATERAL #2

AT REDWOOD ROAD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1923 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 5,200

COLLEGE AVENUE

Fair

Over: M.I.D. LATERAL #4

0.15 M N/O NEEDHAM, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1937 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 16,804

LAKE ROAD

Fair

Over: T.I.D. MAIN CANAL

5.1 MI E ROBERTS FERRY RD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1920 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 336

STATE ROUTE 152 WB

Fair

Over: STATE ROUTE 33

10-MER-152-11.27, Merced, CA

Built 1997 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 12,450

AVE 11

Fair

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

0.07 MI W RD 28 1/2, Madera, CA

Built 1977 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 425

NORTH GATEWAY DR

Fair

Over: FRESNO RIVER

N/O CENTRAL AVE, Madera, CA

Built 1931 Load: 31.1 t ADT: 11,851

Showing 4,951-5,000 of 25,848 bridges

Related

All states → | National rankings → | Understanding conditions → | Retired SD term explained →
Data sourced from the FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI), latest released cycle. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBridges.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI). Poor condition is an inspection-record category, not a closure or unsafe-to-cross designation. Consult the bridge owner for current status.

Understanding Bridge Conditions

How FHWA rates bridge condition on a 0-9 scale.

Check Your Daily Bridges

How to look up bridge condition data for bridges on your route.

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

What to do with this

Use California's inventory picture to drill to a county or a specific span.

  • Browse counties in California and open the highest-Poor shares first. County list
  • See where this state sits among peers on Poor-condition share. State rankings
  • Compare this state with another jurisdiction on the same measures. State compare

NBI condition ratings are inventory snapshots, not live crossing-safety verdicts.

Every figure on PlainBridges is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. California Good/Fair/Poor shares and county rollups on this page are computed from the same NBI extract as the national boards; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024 NBI release. NBI condition categories reflect the latest reported inventory record, not a live safety, closure, or travel decision.