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

WHITWORTH ROAD

Good

Over: CCID MAIN CANAL

0.1 MI N WORTHINGTON RD, Merced, CA

Built 1972 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 160

DE WOODY AVE

Good

Over: COLE SLOUGH

0.9 MI EAST OF FOWLER AVE, Fresno, CA

Built 1981 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 1,350

W KAMM AVE

Good

Over: FRESNO SLOUGH OVERFLOW

2.1 MI E LASSEN AVE, Fresno, CA

Built 1978 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 1,100

STATE ROUTE 46

Good

Over: GREEN VALLEY CREEK

05-SLO-046-R0.89, San Luis Obispo, CA

Built 1974 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 3,700

STURGIS RD

Good

Over: REVOLON SLOUGH

1.9 MI E OF RICE AVE, Ventura, CA

Built 1979 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 3,500

COPCO ROAD

Good

Over: GORMAN CREEK

07-LA-005-R80.79, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1967 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 298

LOS ANGELES ST

Good

Over: ROUTE 101

07-LA-101-0.87-LA, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1950 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 16,000

MAIN STREET

Good

Over: S101-LOS ANGELES ST OFF

07-LA-101-0.95-LA, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1950 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 16,000

INTERSTATE 10

Good

Over: INDIAN HILL BLVD

07-LA-010-47.74-CLA, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1954 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 247,000

STATE ROUTE 14

Good

Over: COURSON RD

07-LA-014-R56.32, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1966 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 80,000

STATE ROUTE 134

Good

Over: CHEVY CHASE DRIVE

07-LA-134-R8.35-GNDL, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1967 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 234,000

E134-2 CONNECTOR

Good

Over: ROUTES 134 & 2 3 STREETS

07-LA-134-R8.57-GNDL, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1967 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 31,000

LIVE OAK AVE

Good

Over: SANTA ANITA WASH

0.8MI E/O SANTA ANITA AVE, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1959 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 26,832

JUANITA AVE

Good

Over: SAN DIMAS WASH

0.9MI E/O GRAND AVE, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1960 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 2,972

SUMMIT RIDGE DR

Good

Over: HILLSIDE

100 E SUMMITRIDGE PL, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1927 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 1,256

LAUREL CANYON BLVD

Good

Over: LOS ANGELES RIVER

0.2 MI N/O VENTURA BLVD, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1951 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 44,972

RITZ CARLTON DRIVE

Good

Over: SALT CREEK BEACH PARK

0.1 MI W/O ROUTE 1, Orange, CA

Built 1974 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 5,300

INTERSTATE 15 NB

Good

Over: OLD TEMESCAL ROAD

08-RIV-015-39.40, Riverside, CA

Built 1975 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 110,000

FRED WARING DRIVE

Good

Over: PALM VLY STRMWTR CHANNEL

0.2 MI. E/O RTE. 111 HWY., Riverside, CA

Built 1965 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 20,000

SAN SEVAINE WAY

Good

Over: SAN SEVAINE CHANNEL

0.7 MI. E/O ETIWANDA AVE., Riverside, CA

Built 1984 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 5,644

CR302 (LAMBERT LN)

Good

Over: HARTSON SLOUGH

0.4 MI SOUTH OF US 395, Lassen, CA

Built 2011 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 166

RD 302 (LAMBERT)

Good

Over: HARTSON SLOUGH OVERFLOW

0.3 MI SOUTH OF US 395, Lassen, CA

Built 2011 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 100

HARRISON AVE

Good

Over: BOAT RAMP

1/8 MI E OF US 50, El Dorado, CA

Built 1975 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 2,095

PARROTTS FERRY RD

Good

Over: COYOTE CREEK

JUST SOUTH INTX WITH SR 4, Calaveras, CA

Built 1981 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 2,506

W TEFFT ST

Good

Over: NIPOMO CREEK

0.25 MI E US 101, San Luis Obispo, CA

Built 1975 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 8,796

U.S. HIGHWAY 101

Good

Over: MELROSE AVE

07-LA-101-4.85-LA, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1950 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 175,000

STATE ROUTE 60

Good

Over: PROSPECTORS ROAD

07-LA-060-R25.36-DMBR, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1970 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 339,000

ROUTE 14 SB

Good

Over: RANCHO VISTA BOULEVARD

07-LA-014-R61.37-PMDL, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1972 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 44,500

ROUTE 14 NB

Good

Over: RANCHO VISTA BOULEVARD

07-LA-014-R61.37-PMDL, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1972 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 44,500

FIGUEROA ST

Good

Over: S110-W105 CONNECTOR RAMP

07-LA-110-13.85-LA, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1991 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 5,250

BROADWAY

Good

Over: SHORELINE DR

0.3MI W/O MAGNOLIA, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1958 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 16,960

ADON AVE

Good

Over: MINT CYN WASH

0.1MI E/O SIERRA HWY, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1983 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 14,994

AVENIDA ROTELLA

Good

Over: PUC

0.1MI N/O LYONS AVE, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1967 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 510

TUSTIN AVE

Good

Over: STATE ROUTE 91

12-ORA-091-8.39-ANA, Orange, CA

Built 1967 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 20,000

INTERSTATE 780 EB

Good

Over: PARK ROAD

04-SOL-780-0.49L-BEN, Solano, CA

Built 1962 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 23,500

WILDER ROAD

Good

Over: STATE ROUTE 24

04-CC-024-1.20, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1964 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 4,460

CAMDEN RD

Good

Over: ALAMITOS CREEK

0.65 MI N HARRY RD, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1976 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 4,400

SANTA ANITA ROAD

Good

Over: QUIEN SABE CREEK

2 MI E BROWNS VALLEY RD, San Benito, CA

Built 1984 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 400

COREY RD

Good

Over: CARNEROS CREEK

0.2 MI S SAN JUAN RD, Monterey, CA

Built 1975 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 150

CARLOTTI DRIVE

Good

Over: BRADLEY CHANNEL

0.2 MI S SEAWARD DRIVE, Santa Barbara, CA

Built 2000 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 200

N5 W2 CONN

Good

Over: E2 N5 CONNECTOR RAMP

07-LA-005-22.63-LA, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1961 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 1,850

ALPINE STREET

Good

Over: STATE ROUTE 110

07-LA-110-23.96-LA, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1948 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 8,000

GRAYWOOD AVE

Good

Over: DEL AMO DRN CHAN

50FT S/O DEL AMO BLVD, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1952 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 30,568

COHASSET ST

Good

Over: BURBANK WESTERN CHAN

50FT E/O I-5 FWY, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1958 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 2,754

YUCCA LN

Good

Over: OAK GROVE DR

0.1MI W/O WINDSOR AVE, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1955 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 6,014

AVE H

Good

Over: SIERRA HIGHWAY

AT SIERRA HWY, Los Angeles, CA

Built 1996 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 27,560

CENTRAL AVENUE

Good

Over: STATE ROUTE 60

08-SBD-060-R2.37-CHN, San Bernardino, CA

Built 1970 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 55,000

STATE ROUTE 38

Good

Over: MOUNTAIN HOME CREEK

08-SBD-038-R12.28, San Bernardino, CA

Built 1978 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 5,000

GENE AUTRY WAY

Good

Over: INTERSTATE 5 SB

12-ORA-005-35.92-ANA, Orange, CA

Built 2000 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 3,000

US HIGHWAY 95

Good

Over: "D" CANAL

08-RIV-095-4.55-BLY, Riverside, CA

Built 1955 Load: 50.9 t ADT: 2,000

Showing 23,701-23,750 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.