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Bridge conditions in Santa Cruz County, California

194 inventoried bridges · 32 rated poor · 2025 National Bridge Inventory

United States Bridge Conditions2025 National Bridge Inventory, FHWACompiled August 20, 2026

Santa Cruz County has 32 bridges rated poor out of 194 inventoried, a 16.5% share that puts it well above the national rate of about 7%.

32 of the 194 bridges in Santa Cruz County, California, are rated in poor condition (16.5%) in the 2025 National Bridge Inventory, as of August 20, 2026.
79 bridges (40.7%) are rated good and 83 (42.8%) fair.
The median Santa Cruz County bridge was built in 1960.
The busiest poor-rated bridge is State Route 1 NB over State Route 17 (built 1958), carrying about 30,000 vehicles a day.

Good 40.7% · Fair 42.8% · Poor 16.5% of 194 bridges

Bridges rated poor

Every bridge in the county with a poor rating, busiest first. Poor means a major component is rated 4 or lower on FHWA's 0-9 scale; it is a repair flag, not a closure notice.

Bridge	Built	Vehicles/day	Condition
State Route 1 NB over State Route 17	1958	30,000	Poor
State Route 1 SB over S17-ocean Off Ocean-n17	1956	30,000	Poor
Murray-eaton St over Woods Lagoon	1963	25,000	Poor
Stockton Ave over Soquel Creek	1934	15,000	Poor
Porter Street over Soquel Creek	1994	11,200	Poor
Granite Creek Road over State Route 17	1961	10,900	Poor
State Route 129 over Salsipuedes Creek	1938	10,000	Poor
State Route 152 over Salsipuedes Creek	1967	7,000	Poor
San Andreas Rd over Watsonville Slough	1941	6,000	Poor
Buena Vista Drive over Harkins Slough	1950	6,000	Poor
State Route 9 over Kings Creek	1927	5,000	Poor
Manabe Ow Road over Watsonville Slough	2017	5,000	Poor
Lomand St over San Lorenzo River	1941	3,000	Poor
Rogge Lane over Pajaro River	1994	2,500	Poor
Hilton Drive over Boulder Creek	1959	2,500	Poor
Isbel Dr over Branciforte Creek	1971	2,015	Poor
Lompico Road over Lompico Creek	1949	2,000	Poor
East Zayante Rd over Zayante Creek	1948	2,000	Poor
Glen Canyon Rd over Branciforte Creek	1939	1,800	Poor
Larkspur St over San Lorenzo River	1957	1,500	Poor
State Route 236 over Boulder Creek	1926	1,200	Poor
Forest Hill Dr over Bear Creek	1961	1,200	Poor
Swanton Rd over Big Creek	1950	500	Poor
Green Valley Rd over Casserly Creek Trib No 1	1915	500	Poor
Green Valley Rd over Casserly Creek Trib No 2	1920	500	Poor
Rancho Rio Avenue over Newell Creek	1958	500	Poor
Lompico Road over Lompico Creek	1940	500	Poor
Eureka Canyon Rd over Shingle Mill Gulch	1950	500	Poor
N Big Trees Prk Rd over San Lorenzo River	1931	500	Poor
Pleasant Way over San Lorenzo River	1949	400	Poor
Brimblecom Rd over San Lorenzo River	1948	400	Poor
Scaroni Rd over Majors Creek	1970	10	Poor

Busiest bridges in the county

Bridge	Built	Vehicles/day	Condition
State Route 1 over Emeline Street	2008	130,000	Fair
Water Street over Branciforte Creek	1924	100,000	Fair
State Route 1 over Soquel Creek Wharf Rd	1947	97,000	Good
State Route 1 over Bay Avenue	1995	97,000	Good
State Route 1 over Market Street	1958	88,000	Good
State Route 1 over Branciforte Creek	1958	88,000	Good
State Route 1 over Carbonera Creek	1958	88,000	Good
State Route 1 over Aptos Crk & Spreckels Dr	1948	78,000	Good
State Route 17 over Hillside	2018	61,000	Good
State Route 17 over Hillside	2018	61,000	Good

Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2025. Counts cover inventoried highway bridges over 20 feet; ratings are reported by the state DOT.

All of California: California bridge conditions by county · every download on the data page.

Background: how bridge ratings work · what "poor" and "structurally deficient" actually mean · how often bridges are inspected.