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

EAST AVENUE

Fair

Over: T.I.D. MAIN CANAL

0.5 MI E/O SANTA FE AVE, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1920 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 1,611

CARVER

Fair

Over: M.I.D. MAIN CANAL

S/O ST. FRANCIS AVE, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1923 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 2,597

PAULINE AVENUE

Fair

Over: M.I.D. LATERAL #5

0.4 MI S/O CALIF AVENUE, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1925 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 449

CANYON ROAD

Fair

Over: DELTA-MENDOTA CANAL

0.4 MI S SUNSET AVE, Merced, CA

Built 1950 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 830

AVE 15 1/2

Fair

Over: MID CANAL (AVE 15 1/2)

0.2 MI E RD 28 1/2, Madera, CA

Built 1953 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 737

W HERNDON AVE

Fair

Over: 3RD LIFT CANAL

0.3 MI EAST OF JERROLD AV, Fresno, CA

Built 1944 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 125

AVENUE 322

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

0.1 MI WEST OF SR 245, Tulare, CA

Built 1949 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 150

AVENUE 182

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

0.25 MI WEST OF ROAD 232, Tulare, CA

Built 1949 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 150

STATE ROUTE 1

Fair

Over: STENNER CREEK

05-SLO-001-17.05-SLO, San Luis Obispo, CA

Built 1920 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 25,000

TURNPIKE ROAD

Fair

Over: UP RR & AMTRAK

S SR 101, Santa Barbara, CA

Built 1961 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 29,187

AUGUSTA ST

Fair

Over: SAN ANTONIO CREEK

0.2 MI N OF SH 135, Santa Barbara, CA

Built 1962 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 428

RADFORD CAMP RD

Fair

Over: SANTA ANA RIVER

0.1 MI N SEVEN OAKS RD, San Bernardino, CA

Built 1950 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 26

PEACH ORCHARD ROAD

Fair

Over: MOFFETT CREEK

0.2 MI E SR 3, Siskiyou, CA

Built 1920 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 94

AGER BESWICK RD

Fair

Over: SHOVEL CREEK

3.4 MI E OF COPCO ROAD, Siskiyou, CA

Built 1977 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 37

YREKA WALKER RD

Fair

Over: HUMBUG CREEK

JUST S OF HUMBUG CREEK RD, Siskiyou, CA

Built 1957 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 56

FRENCH CREEK RD

Fair

Over: DUCK LAKE CREEK

6.2 MI S/O SR 3, Siskiyou, CA

Built 1987 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 100

BAIR ROAD

Fair

Over: REDWOOD CREEK

3.4 MI N/O SR 299, Humboldt, CA

Built 1950 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 113

BRICELAND ROAD

Fair

Over: REDWOOD CREEK

0.1 MI E BRICELND THO RD, Humboldt, CA

Built 1949 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 250

LAKE SHORE DRIVE

Fair

Over: CHARLIE CREEK

1.8 MI SW ANTLR UC ON I-5, Shasta, CA

Built 1926 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 1,383

DEER FLAT RD

Fair

Over: NORTH FORK BATTLE CREEK

0.3 MI E RITTS MILL RD, Shasta, CA

Built 1947 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 120

ROCK CR RD

Fair

Over: ROCK CREEK

0.4 MI N OF S.R. 299, Shasta, CA

Built 1960 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 1,144

PASKENTA ROAD

Fair

Over: WILLOW CREEK

0.2 MI W/O OSBORN RD, Tehama, CA

Built 1935 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 300

PETTYJOHN ROAD

Fair

Over: COLD FORK COTTONWOOD CRK

0.10 MI E WEEMASOUL RD, Tehama, CA

Built 1943 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 20

LASSEN ROAD

Fair

Over: SINGER CREEK FORK

2.2 MI E OF SH 99, Tehama, CA

Built 1981 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 80

ADOBE RD

Fair

Over: BLUE TENT CREEK

1.8 MI E OF SR 36, Tehama, CA

Built 1968 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 555

BAYLISS RD

Fair

Over: GLENN-COLUSA CANAL

4.82 MI EAST OF I-5, Glenn, CA

Built 1948 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 1,731

COUNTY RD 29

Fair

Over: CENTRAL IRRIGATION CANAL

0.5 MI W ROAD XX, Glenn, CA

Built 1948 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 427

COUNTY RD 24

Fair

Over: CENTRAL IRRIGATION CANAL

0.3 MI WEST OF SH 45, Glenn, CA

Built 1948 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 634

GOAT MOUNTAIN ROAD

Fair

Over: LITTLE STONY CREEK

7.4 MI W LODOGA-STNYFD RD, Colusa, CA

Built 1935 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 40

OLD 40 MILE RD

Fair

Over: WEST BEST SLOUGH

0.3 MI E OF 40 MI RD, Yuba, CA

Built 1927 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 50

ERLE RD

Fair

Over: NORTH FORK REEDS CREEK

.8 MI NW/O VIRGINIA RD, Yuba, CA

Built 1930 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 800

STONY POINT RD

Fair

Over: SANTA ROSA CREEK

.5 MI S/O W COLLEGE AVE, Sonoma, CA

Built 1971 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 22,000

LAMBERT BRIDGE RD

Fair

Over: DRY CREEK

0.4 MI W OF DRY CREEK RD, Sonoma, CA

Built 1915 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 838

LICHAU RD

Fair

Over: COPELAND CREEK

1.0 MI E PRESSLEY ROAD, Sonoma, CA

Built 1968 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 1,500

US 50 (I-305) EB

Fair

Over: SACRAMENTO RIV I 5 CONNS

03-SAC-050-L0.01-SAC, Sacramento, CA

Built 1966 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 115,500

THORNTON ROAD

Fair

Over: BEAVER SLOUGH

1 MI N PELTIER ROAD, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1958 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 1,232

CORD ROAD

Fair

Over: BEAR CREEK BRANCH

.5 MI S OF SR 12, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1968 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 15

MONGE RANCH ROAD

Fair

Over: COYOTE CREEK

0.1 MI E SR 4 DOUGLAS FLT, Calaveras, CA

Built 1935 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 98

STATE ROUTE 89

Fair

Over: EAST FORK CARSON RIVER

10-ALP-089-13.30, Alpine, CA

Built 1934 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 950

SOUTH BARRETTA ST

Fair

Over: SONORA CREEK

100 NORTH OF THEALL, Tuolumne, CA

Built 1920 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 2,000

FIRST STREET

Fair

Over: INTERSTATE 580

04-ALA-580-10.69-LVMR, Alameda, CA

Built 1965 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 8,555

GRAND AVE EB

Fair

Over: CALTRAIN UPRR INDUSTRIAL

0.1 MI E OF US 101, San Mateo, CA

Built 1984 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 6,009

OLD SANTA CRUZ HWY

Fair

Over: HILLSIDE

0.7 MILES N OF SR 17, Santa Cruz, CA

Built 1984 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 500

EAST DUNNE AVE

Fair

Over: ANDERSON RESERVOIR

0.5 MI E OF COYOTE RES RD, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1987 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 215

RIDDER PARK DR

Fair

Over: COYOTE CREEK

0.2 MI S BROKAW RD, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1982 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 3,000

COOPERSTOWN ROAD

Fair

Over: GALLUP CREEK

2.8 MI NW LA GRANGE RD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1965 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 35

COX ROAD

Fair

Over: WESTLEY WASTEWAY

0.1 MI N FRANK COX RD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1950 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 987

LOST HILLS AVE

Fair

Over: JACALITOS CREEK

JACALITOS CREEK RD, Fresno, CA

Built 1940 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 290

S ALTA AVE

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

0.75 MI SOUTH OF SR 180, Fresno, CA

Built 1956 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 225

N DOUGLAS AVE

Fair

Over: 2ND LIFT CANAL

0.67 MI N OF BULLARD AVE, Fresno, CA

Built 1925 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 225

Showing 1,401-1,450 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.