Swain County Bridge Report Card

Swain County scores 73 out of 100 on BridgeLookup's Bridge Condition Exposure Score, based on FHWA National Bridge Inventory records.

C73 / 100

Local infrastructure snapshot

Swain County, North Carolina

Swain County has 131 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, with 15 rated poor and 1 rated scour-critical. Its poor-condition share of 11.5% is above the 7.1% statewide average. Poor-condition bridges carry about 2,495 daily vehicle crossings.

131Total Bridges

15Poor (11.5%)

83Fair (63.4%)

1Scour-Critical

Quote-Ready Local Facts

11.5%of county bridges are in poor condition, compared with 7.1% statewide and 6.7% nationally.

2,495daily vehicle crossings are on poor-condition bridges in the county.

1bridges are rated scour-critical, or 0.8% of the county bridge inventory.

Copyable Facts for Reporters

BridgeLookup.com gives Swain County a Bridge Condition Exposure Score of 73/100 (C). The county has 131 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, including 15 in poor condition and 1 rated scour-critical. Poor-condition bridges carry about 2,495 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	11.5%	22.9
Poor-condition traffic exposure	25	1.1% of measured traffic	0.8
Scour-critical bridge share	20	0.8%	1.5
Average age vs national baseline	10	52 years vs 48 nationally	1.7
Traffic-data completeness	5	230,837 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	11.5%
State Poor-Condition Share	7.1%
National Poor-Condition Share	6.7%
County Scour-Critical Share	0.8%
Average Bridge Age	52 years
Poor-Condition Traffic Exposure	2,495 vehicles/day

Bridges to Watch

Busiest Poor-Condition BridgeSr1137 over Bowers Creek — 650 vehicles/day Oldest Listed BridgeOld Number 4 over Unknown Creek — built in 1923 All County BridgesBrowse every bridge record in Swain County.

Top Bridges to Watch in Swain County

Bridge	Reason	Condition	Daily Traffic	Year Built
Sr1137 over Bowers Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	650	1978
Sr1140 over Alarka Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	380	1961
Sr1140 over Alarka Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	380	1969
Sr1103 over Silvermine Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	320	1953
Sr1103 over Silvermine Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	220	1953
Sr1103 over Silvermine Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	220	1977
Oconaluftee Entran over Oconaluftee River	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	100	1983
Sr1140 over Alarka Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	70	1961
Sr1307 over Alarka Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	60	1959
Sr1185 over Alarka Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	40	1970

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.