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

C. R. 49

Fair

Over: HAMILTON CREEK

0.11 MI N/O C. R. 50, Yolo, CA

Built 1911 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 106

COUNTY ROAD 12A

Fair

Over: OAT CREEK

0.34 MI EAST OF CR #87, Yolo, CA

Built 1940 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 494

MANKAS CORNER RD

Fair

Over: LEDGEWOOD CREEK

0.5 MI E SUISUN VALLEY RD, Solano, CA

Built 1935 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 2,634

ORANGEVALE AVENUE

Fair

Over: GOLD CREEK

0.1 MI W AMER RIVER CYN, Sacramento, CA

Built 1915 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 1,000

56TH AVE

Fair

Over: SOUTH SACRAMENTO DRAIN

100 E/O RTE 5, Sacramento, CA

Built 1970 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 3,163

CENTER ST

Fair

Over: HANGTOWN CREEK

AT SR 50, El Dorado, CA

Built 1924 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 5,000

ICE HOUSE RD

Fair

Over: SOUTH FORK SILVER CREEK

9.4 MI N OF US 50, El Dorado, CA

Built 1960 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 1,500

GREENWOOD RD

Fair

Over: GEORGETOWN CREEK

0.9 MI S OF S.R. 193, El Dorado, CA

Built 1931 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 962

TRAVERSE CREEK RD

Fair

Over: DRY CREEK

2 MI N/E SR 193, El Dorado, CA

Built 1930 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 400

CLAY ST

Fair

Over: HANGTOWN CREEK

150 FEET NORTH OF MAIN ST, El Dorado, CA

Built 1940 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 2,100

LATROBE ROAD

Fair

Over: COSUMNES RIVER

AMADOR-EL DORADO CO LINE, Amador, CA

Built 1959 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 3,244

OLD SACRAMENTO RD

Fair

Over: LITTLE INDIAN CREEK

2.4 MI W/O SH 49, Amador, CA

Built 1930 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 932

WILLOW PASS RD

Fair

Over: WALNUT CREEK

AT I-680, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1954 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 37,000

WREN AVE

Fair

Over: CONTRA COSTA CANAL

0.05 MI E 6TH ST, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1939 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 850

EIGHT MILE ROAD

Fair

Over: WHITE SLOUGH (HONKER CUT

5 MI WEST OF I-5, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1936 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 958

WOODSON ROAD

Fair

Over: JAHANT SLOUGH

0.4 MI NE OF JAHANT & 99, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1930 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 700

UTICA POWERHOUSE R

Fair

Over: ANGELS CREEK

0.4 MI SW/O SR 4, Calaveras, CA

Built 1920 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 78

DOUBLE SPRINGS RD

Fair

Over: HAUPT CREEK

0.1 MI E/O SR 26, Calaveras, CA

Built 1917 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 409

EMERGENCY EXIT RD

Fair

Over: ALPINE CREEK

SOUTH OF SR 84, San Mateo, CA

Built 1981 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 1

STATE ROUTE 9

Fair

Over: SAN LORENZO RIVER

05-SCR-009-7.76, Santa Cruz, CA

Built 1927 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 21,100

GLENWOOD DR

Fair

Over: BEAN CREEK

0.5 MI N BEAN CREEK RD, Santa Cruz, CA

Built 1915 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 1,000

SB STATE ROUTE 87

Fair

Over: WILLOW ST & GUADALUPE RI

04-SCL-087-4.55-SJS, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1989 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 65,000

NEW AVE

Fair

Over: RED FOX CREEK

1.1 MI N LEAVESLY ROAD, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1915 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 1,690

BROKAW RD

Fair

Over: GUADALUPE RIVER

0.4 MI S OF SH 101, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1958 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 34,700

VIRGINIA ST

Fair

Over: GUADALUPE RIVER

NEAR HWY 87, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1936 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 6,700

ALAMITOS ROAD

Fair

Over: HERBERT CREEK

1.45 MI SW JCT HICKS RD, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1985 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 10

FRAZIER LAKE ROAD

Fair

Over: PAJARO RIVER

0.6 MI S/E BLOOMFIELD AVE, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1927 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 3,800

OLD PAGE MILL ROAD

Fair

Over: MATADERO CREEK

0.7 MI N/O I-280, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1918 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 190

OLD PAGEMILL ROAD

Fair

Over: MATADERO CREEK

0.9 MI N/O I-280, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1918 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 205

TIM BELL ROAD

Fair

Over: DRY CREEK

0.8 MI S CLARIBEL ROAD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1925 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 232

GAFFERY ROAD

Fair

Over: DELTA-MENDOTA CANAL

1.5 MILES W OF WELTY ROAD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1948 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 495

COFFEE ROAD

Fair

Over: M.I.D. LATERAL #6

0.2 MI S CLARIBEL RD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1923 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 10,981

MILNES ROAD

Fair

Over: M.I.D. MAIN CANAL

0.2 MI E LANGWORTH RD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1922 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 3,475

LAKE ROAD

Fair

Over: HIGHLINE CANAL

0.6 M E/O LAMPLEY RD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1959 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 1,504

INCLINE ROAD

Fair

Over: MOSS CANYON

0.25 MI WEST OF SR 140, Mariposa, CA

Built 1965 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 150

STANISLAUS STREET

Fair

Over: STATE ROUTE 99

06-FRE-099-21.01-FRE, Fresno, CA

Built 1957 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 8,000

N BETHEL AVE

Fair

Over: GOULD CANAL

0.2 MI SOUTH OF SHIELDS, Fresno, CA

Built 1950 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 700

E. WELDON AVE

Fair

Over: HERNDON CANAL

WEST OF KENMORE DR W, Fresno, CA

Built 1947 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 300

N VINELAND AVE

Fair

Over: SANDRIDGE CANAL

0.2 MI NORTH OF ASHLAN AV, Fresno, CA

Built 1936 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 150

N HIGHLAND AVE

Fair

Over: GOULD CANAL

0.3 MI NORTH OF SHIELDS, Fresno, CA

Built 1932 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 325

S CRAWFORD AVE

Fair

Over: CALIFORNIA VINYARD DITCH

0.9 MI N/O MANNING AVE, Fresno, CA

Built 1937 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 1,000

FAIRVIEW ROAD

Fair

Over: ARROYO DE LAS VIBORAS

0.4 MI N ACQUISTAPACE RD, San Benito, CA

Built 1920 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 7,900

ROCKS ROAD

Fair

Over: PINACATE ROCK CREEK

EAST LITTLE MERRILL RD, San Benito, CA

Built 1930 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 1,200

STATE PARK ROAD

Fair

Over: LIMEKILN CREEK

LIMEKILN ST PARK, Monterey, CA

Built 2010 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 100

ROAD 216

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

0.2 MI NORTH OF AVE 264, Tulare, CA

Built 1949 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 400

ROAD M99

Fair

Over: SALMON CREEK

11.94 MI SE OF M50, Tulare, CA

Built 1967 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 390

ROAD 152

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

0.5 MI NORTH OF AVE 420, Tulare, CA

Built 1949 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 50

AVE 224 (LINDMORE)

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

0.25 MI EAST OF ROAD 228, Tulare, CA

Built 1949 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 375

AVE 200 (7TH AVE)

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

0.25 MI WEST OF ROAD 232, Tulare, CA

Built 1949 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 275

AVENUE 112

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

AT ROAD 208, Tulare, CA

Built 1949 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 375

Showing 1,251-1,300 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.