Benton County Bridge Report Card

Benton County scores 44 out of 100 on BridgeLookup's Bridge Condition Exposure Score, based on FHWA National Bridge Inventory records.

F44 / 100

Local infrastructure snapshot

Benton County, Iowa

Benton County has 373 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, with 81 rated poor and 14 rated scour-critical. Its poor-condition share of 21.7% is above the 18.6% statewide average. Poor-condition bridges carry about 26,475 daily vehicle crossings.

373Total Bridges

81Poor (21.7%)

158Fair (42.4%)

14Scour-Critical

Quote-Ready Local Facts

21.7%of county bridges are in poor condition, compared with 18.6% statewide and 6.7% nationally.

26,475daily vehicle crossings are on poor-condition bridges in the county.

14bridges are rated scour-critical, or 3.8% of the county bridge inventory.

Copyable Facts for Reporters

BridgeLookup.com gives Benton County a Bridge Condition Exposure Score of 44/100 (F). The county has 373 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, including 81 in poor condition and 14 rated scour-critical. Poor-condition bridges carry about 26,475 daily vehicle crossings. Poor condition does not mean unsafe; bridges judged unsafe are closed or restricted by transportation agencies.

Download all county report-card scores as CSV.

How the Score Breaks Down

Factor	Weight	County Value	Penalty
Poor-condition bridge share	40	21.7%	40.0
Poor-condition traffic exposure	25	11.3% of measured traffic	8.5
Scour-critical bridge share	20	3.8%	7.5
Average age vs national baseline	10	40 years vs 48 nationally	0.0
Traffic-data completeness	5	234,299 measured daily crossings	0.0

Score = 100 minus weighted penalties. The score is a comparative research signal, not an official safety rating. Read the full methodology.

County Comparisons

County Poor-Condition Share	21.7%
State Poor-Condition Share	18.6%
National Poor-Condition Share	6.7%
County Scour-Critical Share	3.8%
Average Bridge Age	40 years
Poor-Condition Traffic Exposure	26,475 vehicles/day

Bridges to Watch

Busiest Poor-Condition Bridge4th ST over Hinkle Creek — 3,197 vehicles/day Oldest Listed BridgeLocal over Br Prairie Ck — built in 1900 All County BridgesBrowse every bridge record in Benton County.

Top Bridges to Watch in Benton County

Bridge	Reason	Condition	Daily Traffic	Year Built
FM over Spring Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	430	1959
E. 13th ST over Mud Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	60	1965
Local over Prairie Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	50	1947
Local over Wild Cat Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	39	1900
Local over Mud Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	34	1945
Local over Br Stein Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	34	1969
Local over Br Prairie Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	29	1900
Local RD over Br Mud Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	20	1900
Local over Stein Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	15	1948
Local (lwc) over Prairie Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	15	1980

Important safety note

Poor condition does not mean a bridge is unsafe. It means at least one major component has significant deterioration and the bridge is a priority for maintenance, repair, or replacement. Bridges judged unsafe are closed or restricted by transportation agencies.