Decatur County Bridge Report Card

Decatur County scores 53 out of 100 on BridgeLookup's Bridge Condition Exposure Score, based on FHWA National Bridge Inventory records.

F53 / 100

Local infrastructure snapshot

Decatur County, Iowa

Decatur County has 199 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, with 78 rated poor and 2 rated scour-critical. Its poor-condition share of 39.2% is above the 18.6% statewide average. Poor-condition bridges carry about 5,457 daily vehicle crossings.

199Total Bridges

78Poor (39.2%)

84Fair (42.2%)

2Scour-Critical

Quote-Ready Local Facts

39.2%of county bridges are in poor condition, compared with 18.6% statewide and 6.7% nationally.

5,457daily vehicle crossings are on poor-condition bridges in the county.

2bridges are rated scour-critical, or 1.0% of the county bridge inventory.

Copyable Facts for Reporters

BridgeLookup.com gives Decatur County a Bridge Condition Exposure Score of 53/100 (F). The county has 199 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, including 78 in poor condition and 2 rated scour-critical. Poor-condition bridges carry about 5,457 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	39.2%	40.0
Poor-condition traffic exposure	25	4.5% of measured traffic	3.4
Scour-critical bridge share	20	1.0%	2.0
Average age vs national baseline	10	53 years vs 48 nationally	2.1
Traffic-data completeness	5	121,314 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	39.2%
State Poor-Condition Share	18.6%
National Poor-Condition Share	6.7%
County Scour-Critical Share	1.0%
Average Bridge Age	53 years
Poor-Condition Traffic Exposure	5,457 vehicles/day

Bridges to Watch

Busiest Poor-Condition BridgeUS 69 over Zadie Creek — 610 vehicles/day Oldest Listed BridgeFM over Elk Creek — built in 1900 All County BridgesBrowse every bridge record in Decatur County.

Top Bridges to Watch in Decatur County

Bridge	Reason	Condition	Daily Traffic	Year Built
FM over Weldon River	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	379	1958
FM over Elk Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	26	1983
US 69 over Zadie Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	610	1925
FM over Weldon River	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	421	1957
FM over Grand River	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	329	1959
FM over North Elk Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	278	1939
FM over Small Natural Stream	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	278	1939
FM over Elk Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	240	1958
Local over Stream	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	190	1960
FM over Seven Mile Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	190	1969

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.