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

Left O&M Canal Rd

Fair

Over: 120 Wash overchute

13 miles NE of Yuma, Imperial, CA

Built 1935 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 50

GUINTOLI LANE

Fair

Over: US HIGHWAY 101

01-HUM-101-88.80-ARC, Humboldt, CA

Built 1969 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 11,131

SPROWL CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: US HIGHWAY 101

01-HUM-101-R11.12, Humboldt, CA

Built 1967 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 1,000

MAPLE CREEK ROAD

Fair

Over: HEATH CREEK

3.12 MI S BUTLER VLY RD, Humboldt, CA

Built 1961 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 17

ISHI PISHI ROAD

Fair

Over: WILSON CREEK

3.1 MI S JCT WITH SR 96, Humboldt, CA

Built 1975 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 132

PLATINA RD

Fair

Over: EAGLE CREEK

P.M. 22.9 E OF S.R. 36, Shasta, CA

Built 1924 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 610

STATE ROUTE 32

Fair

Over: DEER CREEK

02-TEH-032-17.45, Tehama, CA

Built 1953 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 1,100

STATE ROUTE 128

Fair

Over: BEEBE CREEK

01-MEN-128-38.80, Mendocino, CA

Built 1931 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 2,050

STATE ROUTE 253

Fair

Over: U.S. 101 (@ PM R21.59)

01-MEN-253-17.16, Mendocino, CA

Built 1964 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 2,700

STATE ROUTE 162

Fair

Over: BIG BUTTE CREEK

03-GLE-162-84.58, Glenn, CA

Built 1951 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 1,500

STATE ROUTE 99

Fair

Over: WESTERN CANAL

03-BUT-099-14.03, Butte, CA

Built 1952 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 10,000

LODOGA-STONYFRD RD

Fair

Over: STONY CREEK

IN STONYFORD, Colusa, CA

Built 1958 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 342

WASHINGTON ST

Fair

Over: STATE ROUTE 20

03-NEV-020-R17.18-NEVC, Nevada, CA

Built 1967 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 7,500

MOSCOW RD

Fair

Over: HILLSIDE

1/2 MI NW MONTE RIO, Sonoma, CA

Built 1985 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 700

OLD RIVER ROAD

Fair

Over: SACRAMENTO BYPASS (WEIR)

0.8 MI OF I-80 BRIDGE, Yolo, CA

Built 1916 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 2,889

ICE HOUSE RD

Fair

Over: TELLS CREEK

18.9 MI N OF US 50, El Dorado, CA

Built 1963 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 1,500

I 580 EB

Fair

Over: SCOFIELD AVENUE

04-CC-580-5.83-RCH, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1956 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 34,000

STATE ROUTE 4 WB

Fair

Over: MCEWEN ROAD

04-CC-004-R5.17, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1967 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 23,000

STATE ROUTE 4 EB

Fair

Over: MCEWEN ROAD

04-CC-004-R5.17, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1967 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 23,000

CANAL RD

Fair

Over: CONTRA COSTA CANAL

0.15 MI NW BAILEY RD, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1969 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 3,010

TREAT BLVD

Fair

Over: WALNUT CREEK

0.5 MI EAST OF OAK RD, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1970 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 36,800

BROWN ST

Fair

Over: ARROYO DEL HAMBRE

0.1 MI W PINE ST, Contra Costa, CA

Built 1929 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 3,000

5N -132E CONNECTOR

Fair

Over: DELTA-MENDOTA CANAL

10-SJ-005-3.27, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1971 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 5,000

MAIN ST

Fair

Over: UP RR

0.07 MI S/W OF S.H. 99, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1967 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 2,600

CALIFORNIA STREET

Fair

Over: MORMON SLOUGH

SOUTH HAZLETON AVE, San Joaquin, CA

Built 1958 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 4,700

INTERSTATE 880

Fair

Over: LEWELLING BLVD

04-ALA-880-20.32, Alameda, CA

Built 1953 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 222,000

MEEKLAND AVE

Fair

Over: SAN LORENZO CREEK

0.05 MI S OF LEWELLING BL, Alameda, CA

Built 1927 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 11,800

U.S. HWY 101 (SB)

Fair

Over: STATE ROUTE 152

04-SCL-101-R7.52-GIL, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1973 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 26,000

SANTA TERESA BLVD

Fair

Over: UVAS CREEK

0.6 MI S HECKER PASS RD, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1972 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 5,110

TANTAU AVE

Fair

Over: CALABAZAS CREEK

NORTH OF I-280, Santa Clara, CA

Built 1966 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 7,700

WHITMORE AVENUE

Fair

Over: T.I.D. MAIN CANAL

0.8 MI W HICKMAN RD, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1923 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 1,940

SANTA FE AVENUE

Fair

Over: T.I.D. MAIN CANAL

0.1 MI S/O MONTE VISTA AV, Stanislaus, CA

Built 1939 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 4,500

STATE ROUTE 165

Fair

Over: MERCED RIVER

10-MER-165-30.29, Merced, CA

Built 1920 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 7,750

VOLTA ROAD

Fair

Over: DELTA-MENDOTA CANAL

0.4 MI S PIONEER RD, Merced, CA

Built 1945 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 158

MANNING AVE

Fair

Over: STATE ROUTE 99

06-FRE-099-9.16-FOW, Fresno, CA

Built 1962 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 16,894

E MOUNT WHITNEY AV

Fair

Over: BIG B DITCH

0.3 MI EAST OF PEACH AVE, Fresno, CA

Built 1928 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 2,270

N. CHESTNUT AVE

Fair

Over: MILL DITCH

SOUTH OF MCKINLEY AV, Fresno, CA

Built 1959 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 29,841

E JENSEN AVE

Fair

Over: FRIANT-KERN CANAL

0.05 MI E/O NAVELENCIA AV, Fresno, CA

Built 1949 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 200

S PEACH AVE

Fair

Over: HARLAN STEVENS DITCH

0.21 MI N OF NEBRASKA, Fresno, CA

Built 1925 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 200

N MACDONOUGH AVE

Fair

Over: FRESNO CANAL

0.5 MI NORTH OF BELMONT, Fresno, CA

Built 1948 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 350

US HIGHWAY 101 SB

Fair

Over: LOCKWOOD-SAN LUCAS ROAD

05-MON-101-R29.90, Monterey, CA

Built 1971 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 7,450

US HIGHWAY 101 NB

Fair

Over: LOCKWOOD-SAN LUCAS ROAD

05-MON-101-R29.90, Monterey, CA

Built 1971 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 7,450

HESTER AVE

Fair

Over: DEEP CREEK

BTWN LARRY ST & COSTNR ST, Tulare, CA

Built 1963 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 1,572

AVENUE 368

Fair

Over: TRAVER CANAL

ROAD 40, Tulare, CA

Built 1958 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 100

STATE ROUTE 1

Fair

Over: VILLA CREEK

05-SLO-001-15.27-PBCH, San Luis Obispo, CA

Built 1947 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 9,500

US HIGHWAY 101 SB

Fair

Over: WADSWORTH AVE

05-SLO-101-16.88-PBCH, San Luis Obispo, CA

Built 1960 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 28,000

SAN GABRIEL RD

Fair

Over: ATASCADERO CREEK

N OF W LINDO AVE, San Luis Obispo, CA

Built 1969 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 800

JESPERSEN RD

Fair

Over: E BR SAN LUIS OBISPO CRK

0.2 MI S BUCKEY RD, San Luis Obispo, CA

Built 1959 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 80

STATE PARK RD

Fair

Over: SAN SIMEON CREEK TRIB

100 E/O RTE 1 PM 52.82, San Luis Obispo, CA

Built 1950 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 30

N135-N101 N101-S13

Fair

Over: US HWY 101 (@PM 90.75)

05-SB-135-17.78-SMRA, Santa Barbara, CA

Built 1962 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 20,900

Showing 4,501-4,550 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.