Steele County Bridge Report Card

Steele County scores 79 out of 100 on BridgeLookup's Bridge Condition Exposure Score, based on FHWA National Bridge Inventory records.

C79 / 100

Local infrastructure snapshot

Steele County, North Dakota

Steele County has 93 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, with 8 rated poor and 1 rated scour-critical. Its poor-condition share of 8.6% is at or below the 11.1% statewide average. Poor-condition bridges carry about 126 daily vehicle crossings.

93Total Bridges

8Poor (8.6%)

35Fair (37.6%)

1Scour-Critical

Quote-Ready Local Facts

8.6%of county bridges are in poor condition, compared with 11.1% statewide and 6.7% nationally.

126daily vehicle crossings are on poor-condition bridges in the county.

1bridges are rated scour-critical, or 1.1% of the county bridge inventory.

Copyable Facts for Reporters

BridgeLookup.com gives Steele County a Bridge Condition Exposure Score of 79/100 (C). The county has 93 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, including 8 in poor condition and 1 rated scour-critical. Poor-condition bridges carry about 126 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	8.6%	17.2
Poor-condition traffic exposure	25	1.5% of measured traffic	1.1
Scour-critical bridge share	20	1.1%	2.2
Average age vs national baseline	10	50 years vs 48 nationally	0.7
Traffic-data completeness	5	8,615 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	8.6%
State Poor-Condition Share	11.1%
National Poor-Condition Share	6.7%
County Scour-Critical Share	1.1%
Average Bridge Age	50 years
Poor-Condition Traffic Exposure	126 vehicles/day

Bridges to Watch

Busiest Poor-Condition BridgeCounty Highway over Elm River — 40 vehicles/day Oldest Listed BridgeCounty Highway over Beaver Creek — built in 1913 All County BridgesBrowse every bridge record in Steele County.

Top Bridges to Watch in Steele County

Bridge	Reason	Condition	Daily Traffic	Year Built
County Highway over Elm River	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	40	1989
County Highway over South Branch Goose River	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	20	1920
County Highway over Beaver Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	20	1938
County Highway over Beaver Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	15	1940
County Highway over Beaver Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	10	1913
County Highway over Beaver Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	10	1940
County Highway over Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	10	1972
Approach over Goose River	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	1	1980
County Highway over Creek	Scour-critical foundation rating	Good	15	2000
Nd Highway 32 over Creek	High traffic	Fair	850	1988

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.