Oldest Bridges in Iowa

The oldest bridge in Iowa is the Local-dead End over Skunk River in Story County, built in 1876.

Age, drawn to scale

The 10 oldest in Iowa, one timeline

187519001925195019752000today

1Local-dead End over Skunk RiverIA · 1876 · 11/day 2Local over Br Des Moines RiverIA · 1878 · 21/day 3Sutton RD over Wapsipinicon RiverIA · 1879 · 140/day 4Ash ST over Des Moines STIA · 1882 · 565/day 5Local over North Raccoon RiverIA · 1882 · 153/day 6Local-closed! over Dd 81IA · 1882 · 46/day 7Bridge ST over Turkey RiverIA · 1889 · 4.8k/day 8Local over Beaver CreekIA · 1890 · 21/day 9Rosedale RD over Indian CRIA · 1890 · 299/day 10Local over Badger CreekIA · 1890 · 40/day For scale: the Brooklyn BridgeNY · 1883 · 111k/day

Each bar runs from the year the bridge was built to today, colored by its overall condition (green good, orange fair, red poor). A white notch marks a recorded reconstruction; many of these bridges have been rebuilt or widened more than once, and the inventory keeps only the most recent date. Daily traffic is the latest count.

When the bridges were built

every bridge in Iowa by the decade it was built

Before 1900pre85%

546

1900s'0066%

335

1910s'1076%

524

1920s'2056%

611

1930s'3042%

752

1940s'4049%

2.3k

1950s'5038%

2.7k

1960s'6029%

3.6k

1970s'7020%

2.9k

1980s'8012%

2.8k

1990s'903%

3.0k

2000s'001%

2.5k

2010s'100%

1.1k

2020s'200%

bridges builtshare rated poor

goodfairpoor

Bars are stacked by today's condition rating. 23,712 bridges are counted. Build years before 1900 are counted only when credible. 512 of the 546 bridges in the 1900s bar are recorded as built in exactly 1900, which is likely an estimate rather than a date.

The Oldest Bridges in Iowa

Bridge	County	Built	Rebuilt	Material	Daily Traffic	Condition
Local-dead End over Skunk River	Story	1876	1974	Steel	11	Poor
Local over Br Des Moines River	Marion	1878		Steel	21	Poor
Sutton RD over Wapsipinicon River	Linn	1879	1987	Aluminum/Wrought Iron/Cast Iron	140	Poor
Ash ST over Des Moines ST	Des Moines	1882	1985	Masonry	565	Fair
Local over North Raccoon River	Dallas	1882		Steel	153	Poor
Local-closed! over Dd 81	Palo Alto	1882	2010	Steel	46	Fair
Bridge ST over Turkey River	Clayton	1889	1973	Masonry	4,755	Fair
Local over Beaver Creek	Dallas	1890	1974	Steel	21	Poor
Rosedale RD over Indian CR	Linn	1890		Aluminum/Wrought Iron/Cast Iron	299	Poor
Local over Badger Creek	Madison	1890	1974	Steel	40	Poor
Brooklyn Bridge over I278 Fdr Drive Fdr Dri		1883	2016		110,939	Poor
Stone Bridge RD over Wet Creek	Jones	1893		Masonry	294	Poor
V AVE over Buffington Creek	Louisa	1893		Steel	11	Poor
Local over E Fork Of Des Moines	Emmet	1895	1937	Steel	5	Poor
Grandview Trl over N Clanton Creek	Madison	1895		Steel	5	Poor
Local RD over Jim Creek	Madison	1895	1996	Steel	20	Poor
Local over Wolf Creek	Tama	1895	1980	Steel	11	Poor
So Main ST over Cascade Landing	Des Moines	1896	1960	Steel	743	Poor
Local over Salt Creek	Tama	1897	1935	Steel	44	Poor
215th ST over Des Moines River	Humboldt	1899		Steel	50	Poor
Garfield ST over Drainage	Sioux	1900		Steel	232	Poor
Main ST E over Division Creek	Jones	1900		Concrete	3,776	Fair
Division ST over Division Creek	Jones	1900	2012	Wood or Timber	555	Fair
Truman RD over Drainage	Cass	1900		Concrete	95	Fair
7th ST over Lateral #77 Dd #23	Carroll	1900		Concrete Continuous	2,081	Fair
W Ridgeway AVE over S Br Dry Run	Black Hawk	1900	2008	Steel	1,049	Poor
E. Maple ST over Railroad Creek	Cherokee	1900		Steel	472	Poor
E. Willow ST over Railroad Creek	Cherokee	1900		Steel	377	Poor
Euclid AVE over Railroad Creek	Cherokee	1900		Steel	699	Poor
Union ST over Railroad Creek	Cherokee	1900		Steel	803	Poor
N 16th ST over Drainage	Page	1900	1991	Steel	1,073	Poor
E 13th ST over Over I.c.e. Rr	Scott	1900		Wood or Timber	358	Poor
E 33rd ST over Goose Creek	Scott	1900		Concrete	1,680	Fair
W 46th ST over Cardinal Creek	Scott	1900	2016	Wood or Timber	120	Poor
Utah AVE over Duck Creek	Scott	1900	1987	Prestressed Concrete	120	Poor
Eastern AVE over Duck Creek	Scott	1900	1973	Concrete Continuous	15,300	Poor
4th AVE SE over Skillet Creek	Webster	1900		Concrete	34	Poor
ST Johns RD over Drainage	Polk	1900		Concrete	684	Poor
Forest AVE over Closes Creek	Polk	1900	1981	Prestressed Concrete	2,608	Fair
Ws 1st ST over School Creek	Emmet	1900		Concrete	908	Fair
6th ST over Elk Run Creek	Black Hawk	1900		Steel	209	Poor
3rd ST over Over Abandon Rr	Adair	1900		Wood or Timber	387	Poor
Traer ST over Ovrflw Shell Rock River	Butler	1900		Steel	1,902	Poor
Exchange ST over Drainage	Shelby	1900		Prestressed Concrete	452	Fair
Concord ST over Drainage	Buchanan	1900		Steel	220	Poor
W State ST over Drainage	Marshall	1900		Concrete Continuous	472	Poor
Jacob ST over Drainage	Tama	1900	1984	Steel	232	Poor
Willow ST over Drainage	Sac	1900	1999	Steel	232	Poor
2nd ST NE over Dry Run Creek	Fayette	1900		Concrete	224	Poor
2nd AVE SW over Dry Run Creek	Fayette	1900		Concrete Continuous	750	Fair
1st AVE SW over Dry Run Creek	Fayette	1900		Concrete	1,273	Poor
Center ST over Hurtzel Run	Johnson	1900		Steel	269	Poor
Cherry ST over Drainage	Butler	1900		Concrete	1,429	Poor
Lake ST over Small Stream	Cerro Gordo	1900		Steel	1,290	Fair
Bishop AVE over Blowers Creek	Black Hawk	1900		Concrete	1,339	Fair
S Vine ST over Otter Creek	Fayette	1900		Concrete	1,042	Fair
Sherman ST over Drainage	Clarke	1900		Concrete	37	Poor
Ia 188 over Stream	Butler	1900	1962	Concrete Continuous	490	Fair
Ia 57 over Drainage Ditch	Grundy	1900	1928	Concrete Continuous	1,800	Fair
Ia 175 over Drainage Ditch	Monona	1900	1952	Concrete Continuous	1,460	Good
Trenton AVE over Three Mile Creek	Adair	1900	1992	Steel	15	Poor
Local over Nodaway Creek	Adair	1900		Steel	35	Poor
Local over Rutt Branch	Adair	1900		Steel	35	Poor
FM over Middle River	Adair	1900	1993	Steel	20	Fair
Local over Branch Middle River	Adair	1900		Steel	21	Poor
Local over Middle Nodaway River	Adair	1900	1991	Steel	21	Poor
N77 Union AVE over Cipra Branch	Adams	1900	1978	Steel	71	Poor
Mulberry AVE over East Nodaway River	Adams	1900		Steel	5	Poor
198th Lane over Kemp Creek	Adams	1900	1967	Steel	5	Poor
140th Street over East Nodaway River	Adams	1900	1973	Steel	11	Poor
Local RD over Br Suttle Creek	Allamakee	1900		Concrete Continuous	70	Poor
Local over Yellow River	Allamakee	1900		Steel	26	Poor
Local RD over Hickory Creek	Allamakee	1900	1963	Concrete Continuous	49	Fair
Local RD over Teeple Creek	Allamakee	1900	1975	Wood or Timber	60	Poor
Local over Village Creek	Allamakee	1900		Steel	10	Poor
Clear Creek Wma over Clear Creek	Allamakee	1900	2012	Wood or Timber	15	Fair
Local over Long Branch	Appanoose	1900	1989	Steel	26	Poor
Local over Packard Creek	Appanoose	1900		Steel	16	Poor
Local over Shoal Creek	Appanoose	1900	1992	Steel	11	Poor
Local over Stream	Appanoose	1900		Steel	21	Poor
Local over Indian Creek	Appanoose	1900		Steel	5	Poor
Local over Stream	Appanoose	1900	1999	Steel	51	Fair
Local over Stream	Appanoose	1900	1999	Steel	51	Poor
Local over Small	Appanoose	1900		Steel	26	Fair
100th AVE over Stream	Appanoose	1900	1993	Steel	10	Poor
Local over Stream	Appanoose	1900		Steel	21	Poor
Local over Stream	Appanoose	1900	1993	Steel	11	Poor
Local over Creek	Audubon	1900		Wood or Timber	11	Fair
Local over Br Prairie Ck	Benton	1900		Concrete	29	Poor
Local RD over Br Mud Ck	Benton	1900		Steel	20	Poor
FM over Prairie Creek	Benton	1900		Concrete Continuous	80	Poor
Local over Wild Cat Creek	Benton	1900		Steel	39	Poor
Lincoln RD over Trib To Black Hawk Creek	Black Hawk	1900	1969	Steel Continuous	177	Poor
Oxley RD over Indian Creek	Black Hawk	1900		Steel	26	Poor
Hoff RD over Prescotts Creek	Black Hawk	1900	1988	Steel	29	Poor
Local over Big Creek	Boone	1900		Concrete Continuous	90	Poor
Local over Trib Des Moines River	Boone	1900		Steel	50	Fair
Local over Little Beaver Creek	Boone	1900		Steel	26	Fair
Local over Little Beaver Creek	Boone	1900		Steel	26	Poor
Local over Big Creek	Boone	1900	2001	Steel	40	Fair

Oldest bridges in the United States · Longest bridges in Iowa