Pennington County Bridge Report Card

Pennington County scores 82 out of 100 on BridgeLookup's Bridge Condition Exposure Score, based on FHWA National Bridge Inventory records.

B82 / 100

Local infrastructure snapshot

Pennington County, South Dakota

Pennington County has 348 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, with 21 rated poor and 8 rated scour-critical. Its poor-condition share of 6.0% is at or below the 16.1% statewide average. Poor-condition bridges carry about 11,907 daily vehicle crossings.

348Total Bridges

21Poor (6.0%)

206Fair (59.2%)

8Scour-Critical

Quote-Ready Local Facts

6.0%of county bridges are in poor condition, compared with 16.1% statewide and 6.7% nationally.

11,907daily vehicle crossings are on poor-condition bridges in the county.

8bridges are rated scour-critical, or 2.3% of the county bridge inventory.

Copyable Facts for Reporters

BridgeLookup.com gives Pennington County a Bridge Condition Exposure Score of 82/100 (B). The county has 348 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, including 21 in poor condition and 8 rated scour-critical. Poor-condition bridges carry about 11,907 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	6.0%	12.1
Poor-condition traffic exposure	25	1.0% of measured traffic	0.8
Scour-critical bridge share	20	2.3%	4.6
Average age vs national baseline	10	48 years vs 48 nationally	0.3
Traffic-data completeness	5	1,162,839 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	6.0%
State Poor-Condition Share	16.1%
National Poor-Condition Share	6.7%
County Scour-Critical Share	2.3%
Average Bridge Age	48 years
Poor-Condition Traffic Exposure	11,907 vehicles/day

Bridges to Watch

Busiest Poor-Condition BridgeChapel Lane over Rapid Ck — 4,700 vehicles/day Oldest Listed BridgeHammerquist Road over Rapid Ck — built in 1916 All County BridgesBrowse every bridge record in Pennington County.

Top Bridges to Watch in Pennington County

Bridge	Reason	Condition	Daily Traffic	Year Built
Chapel Lane over Rapid Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	4,700	1974
Us385 over Horse Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	2,378	1947
Country Road over Box Elder Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	1,214	1950
Town Street (us16) over Abandon Line Rr	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	1,000	1930
Bennet Road over Box Elder Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	881	1973
Elm Avenue over Drainage Ditch	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	300	1984
Summerset Drive over Ditch	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	250	1984
Thunderhead Falls over Rapid Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	218	1972
Thunderhead Falls over Rapid Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	218	1972
Roy Street over Grizzly Bear Ck	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	200	1955

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.