State profile · Above median Poor share

South Dakota 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 South Dakota.

5,887
Public bridges
33.8%
Good condition
16.4%
Poor condition

South Dakota holds 5,887 public highway bridges (#33 of 52 by inventory) with a 16.36% Poor share (#3 of 52 by Poor share).

That is 16.4% 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 51 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

5,887

Public highway bridges in South Dakota

Good Condition

33.8%

1,992 bridges rated 7-9

-16.2pp vs 50% benchmark

Poor Condition

16.4%

963 bridges whose lowest applicable component is rated 0-4

8.8pp vs national avg 7.5%

South Dakota vs national bridge condition

South Dakota - Good condition share 33.8%
National avg

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

South Dakota - Poor-condition share 54.5%
National avg

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

South Dakota 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: South Dakota has 5,887 bridges and a 16.4% Poor-condition share in the 2024 NBI, rank #51 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 (%) SD, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 16.36%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%CA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 25.8k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.91%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%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: South Dakota has 5,887 bridges and a 16.4% Poor-condition share in the 2024 NBI, rank #51 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.

South Dakota 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

5,887 33rd of 54 higher than 21 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 South Dakota

The highlighted point is South Dakota: 5,887 bridges and 16.36% in Poor condition, rank #51 of 54 jurisdictions ordered from the lowest share upward. The five jurisdictions immediately above and below South Dakota on that same Poor-share ordering:

  • Rhode Island: 783 bridges · 15.20% Poor
  • Maine: 2,518 bridges · 15.41% Poor
  • South Dakota: 5,887 bridges · 16.36% Poor
  • West Virginia: 7,348 bridges · 18.64% Poor
  • Iowa: 23,719 bridges · 19.16% Poor

The full national sortable table lives on the rankings page.

Material families in South Dakota

Exclusive FHWA material families across all 5,887 bridges in this state; continuous variants fold into the parent family. Orthogonal to the Poor-share scatter above.

Who maintains South Dakota’s inventory

State agency holds 31.3% of the 5,887 public highway bridges filed under South Dakota in the 2024 NBI, the agency-of-record split for this state, not a condition verdict.

When South Dakota’s bridges were built

Pre-1950 construction accounts for 18.2% of the 5,887 bridges with a recorded original year in South Dakota. Era bands are orthogonal to the Poor-share ranking above.

Condition Distribution

South Dakota33.8%49.8%16.4%GoodFairPoor
Bridge inventory deck-condition mix - South Dakota (FHWA NBI)

Counties (66)

Aurora 61 Beadle 152 Bennett 15 Bon Homme 126 Brookings 233 Brown 170 Brule 38 Buffalo 25 Butte 143 Campbell 15 Charles Mix 103 Clark 20 Clay 94 Codington 74 Corson 49 Custer 95 Davison 123 Day 34 Deuel 72 Dewey 28 Douglas 44 Edmunds 20 Fall River 80 Faulk 46 Grant 205 Gregory 51 Haakon 69 Hamlin 62 Hand 126 Hanson 62 Harding 49 Hughes 40 Hutchinson 161 Hyde 23 Jackson 89 Jerauld 35 Jones 37 Kingsbury 35 Lake 79 Lawrence 136 Lincoln 207 Lyman 114 Marshall 39 McCook 98 McPherson 14 Meade 215 Mellette 28 Miner 64 Minnehaha 393 Moody 87 Oglala Lakota 34 Pennington 348 Perkins 60 Potter 24 Roberts 157 Sanborn 53 Spink 176 Stanley 37 Sully 31 Todd 24 Tripp 90 Turner 143 Union 170 Walworth 33 Yankton 99 Ziebach 30

South Dakota 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 South Dakota on the same metric.

RI

Rhode Island

15.20% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$783

ME

Maine

15.41% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$2,518
Selected

SD

South Dakota

16.36% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$5,887

WV

West Virginia

18.64% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$7,348

IA

Iowa

19.16% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$23,719

Bridges Needing Most Attention in South Dakota

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

SMITHWICK ROAD

Poor

Over: WHITE RIVER

.75 KM NE OF BIA RTE 41, Oglala Lakota, SD

Built 1935 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 10

395th Avenue

Poor

Over: Cain Creek

8.6S & 5W of Huron, Beadle, SD

Built 1926 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 56

216 ST

Poor

Over: SOUTH FORK PEARL CK

8.0S 1.5W CAVOUR, Beadle, SD

Built 1924 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 56

200TH ST

Poor

Over: SHUE CK

8N 0.8E CAVOUR, Beadle, SD

Built 1912 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 56

412th Avenue

Poor

Over: Middle Pearl Creek

5.1S & 3E of Cavour, Beadle, SD

Built 1930 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 56

41480 299th Street

Poor

Over: Emanuel Creek

4N & 1.2W of Tyndall, Bon Homme, SD

Built 1905 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 20

All Bridges in South Dakota

CEMETERY RD.

Good

Over: SOUTH CANAL

5E &12.3N STURGIS, Meade, SD

Built 1996 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 15

COLONY PL.

Good

Over: BEAR BUTTE CK

5.5E & 2.4N STURGIS, Meade, SD

Built 2016 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 15

NINE MILE RD.

Good

Over: SPRING CK

8 E & 5 N STURGIS, Meade, SD

Built 1990 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 100

ELK CREEK RD.

Good

Over: ELK CK

0.4 S 2.5 E PIEDMONT, Meade, SD

Built 1951 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 240

ELK CREEK RD.

Good

Over: ELK CK

0.2 S 3.1 E PIEDMONT, Meade, SD

Built 1950 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 151

139TH AVE.

Good

Over: BEAR BUTTE CK

13.1E & 4.IN STURGIS, Meade, SD

Built 2010 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 33

ELK CREEK RD.

Good

Over: CK

0.4S 7.5E PIEDMONT, Meade, SD

Built 1950 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 136

ELK VALE RD.

Good

Over: ANTELOPE CK

17.7E 8.5S STURGIS, Meade, SD

Built 1982 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 50

ELK VALE RD.

Good

Over: ELK CK

11.9E 0.4N PIEDMONT, Meade, SD

Built 1970 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 85

OPAL RD.

Good

Over: PINE CK

9 S 1 E MAURINE, Meade, SD

Built 1999 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 42

FOX RIDGE RD.

Good

Over: CK

3.5N & 5E RED OWL, Meade, SD

Built 1994 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 60

UNITED SCHOOL RD.

Good

Over: CK

14.2S & 4W FAITH, Meade, SD

Built 1999 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 19

231 ST

Good

Over: ROCK CK

2N & 6.6W HOWARD, Miner, SD

Built 2005 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 10

COUNTY RD

Good

Over: WEST FORK VERMILLION RV

1N & 0.6E HOWARD, Miner, SD

Built 2001 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 20

FARMER AVE

Good

Over: WEST FORK VERMILLION RV

FARMER AVE. - HOWARD, Miner, SD

Built 1994 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 75

S MAIN AVE

Good

Over: TURTLE CK

0.7S Inter SD38-Hartford, Minnehaha, SD

Built 2002 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 50

FEYDER AVE

Good

Over: TURTLE CK

.2N Int Mickelson-Hartfor, Minnehaha, SD

Built 2000 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 50

E MICKELSON RD

Good

Over: TURTLE CK

.1W Int SD38-Hartford, Minnehaha, SD

Built 2019 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 30

Ellis Road

Good

Over: Trib. to Skunk Creek

0.2N of 12th Street - SF, Minnehaha, SD

Built 2000 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 4,700

Discovery Avenue

Good

Over: Drainage Channel

0.1S of 12th Street, Minnehaha, SD

Built 2002 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 100

264TH ST HWY 142

Good

Over: BIG SIOUX RIVER

2.5S & 1.1W BRANDON, Minnehaha, SD

Built 1992 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 4,733

264TH STREET

Good

Over: BEAVER CREEK

0.6E & 2.5S BRANDON, Minnehaha, SD

Built 1989 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 30

483RD AVENUE

Good

Over: BEAVER CREEK

1E & 2.4S BRANDON, Minnehaha, SD

Built 1989 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 93

474th Avenue

Good

Over: Bachelor Creek

3.0W & 1.3N of Trent, Moody, SD

Built 2003 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 705

240th Street

Good

Over: Brookfield Creek

0.9E of Trent, Moody, SD

Built 2016 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 240

480th Avenue

Good

Over: Spring Creek

3.3N of Flandreau, Moody, SD

Built 2010 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 20

483rd Avenue

Good

Over: Spring Creek

4W & 0.2S of Ward, Moody, SD

Built 1997 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 115

238th Street

Good

Over: Pipestone Creek

2N & 8.8E of Trent, Moody, SD

Built 1961 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 145

THUNDERHEAD FALLS

Good

Over: RAPID CK

OFF THUNDERHEAD FALL, Pennington, SD

Built 1972 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 10

CEMETERY ROAD

Good

Over: GRIZZLY BEAR CK

0.3S JCT 16A40 KEYSTONE, Pennington, SD

Built 1974 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 150

TWILIGHT DRIVE

Good

Over: IOWA DITCH

0.3W OF RESERVOIR RD, Pennington, SD

Built 1998 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 389

ANDERSEN ROAD

Good

Over: RAPID CK

6.5W 2.2N OF CAPUTA, Pennington, SD

Built 1950 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 813

S ELLSWORTH RD

Good

Over: BOX ELDER CK

0.3S Ells Rd & Hwy 1416, Pennington, SD

Built 2001 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 100

SPRUCE STREET

Good

Over: BOXELDER CK

SPRUCE ST - BOX ELDER, Pennington, SD

Built 2012 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 175

151ST AVENUE

Good

Over: BOXELDER CK

1.8E .3S BOX ELDER, Pennington, SD

Built 1973 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 25

HWY 1416

Good

Over: CK

1N NEW UNDERWOOD, Pennington, SD

Built 1926 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,089

SPRING DRAW RD

Good

Over: SPRING CK DRAW

3.1W 3.1N SCENIC, Pennington, SD

Built 2011 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 22

HORTON RD.

Good

Over: UNNAMED CK

2.7 E 11.5 SO QUINN, Pennington, SD

Built 1962 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 35

BIG FOOT RD

Good

Over: UNNAMED CK

3.4E 6.4S QUINN, Pennington, SD

Built 1962 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 79

BORDER LINE ROAD

Good

Over: BR NORTH FORK GRAND RV

24.0 W WHITE BUTTE, Perkins, SD

Built 2011 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 60

BIXBY ROAD

Good

Over: MOREAU RV

5 W 26.6 S BISON, Perkins, SD

Built 1954 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 75

297 AVENUE

Good

Over: ARTICHOKE CK

12W & 6.4S GETTYSBURG, Potter, SD

Built 2003 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 10

311 AVENUE

Good

Over: CK

1.0E & 4.1S GETTYSBURG, Potter, SD

Built 1936 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 143

311 AVENUE

Good

Over: CK

4.4S & 1E GETTYSBURG, Potter, SD

Built 1936 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 143

112th Street

Good

Over: Trib to Little MN River

6.5S & 0.8E of Claire Cty, Roberts, SD

Built 2018 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 23

459th Avenue

Good

Over: Creek

4.6S of Jct with SD 10, Roberts, SD

Built 1941 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 5,850

459th Avenue

Good

Over: Creek

12.8S of Jct with SD 10, Roberts, SD

Built 1941 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 1,600

127th Street

Good

Over: Creek

2.3W of Peever, Roberts, SD

Built 1929 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 458

466th Avenue

Good

Over: Creek

1W & 0.1S of Wilmot, Roberts, SD

Built 1985 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 38

395TH AVENUE

Good

Over: SAND CK

2W & 6.3N WOONSOCKET, Sanborn, SD

Built 2011 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 56

Showing 3,301-3,350 of 5,887 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 South Dakota's inventory picture to drill to a county or a specific span.

  • Browse counties in South Dakota 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. South Dakota 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.