Scour Critical Bridges

23,522 bridges across the US at risk from water erosion around foundations.

Scour Critical Bridges

Scour is the erosion of soil and rock around a bridge's foundation caused by moving water. When foundations are exposed or undermined, a bridge can collapse even if its deck and superstructure are in good condition. Scour is the leading cause of bridge failures in the US. These 23,522 bridges have been identified as vulnerable to scour damage.

Bridge	State	Scour Status	Condition	Year Built	ADT
BROOKEEN CREEK	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1951	975
SMITH AND MOREHOUSE CR	Utah	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1996	914
INABON RIVER	Puerto Rico	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	2021	900
COTTONWOOD CREEK	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1958	887
SHAN CREEK	Oklahoma	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1955	880
CREEK	Oklahoma	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1955	880
MENARD CREEK	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1962	844
Duck Key Channel	Florida	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1955	830
RATTLESNAKE CREEK	Nebraska	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1938	830
MEGUNTICOOK RIVER	Maine	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1935	830
WEST OUTFALL DITCH	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1981	818
TRES PINOS CREEK	California	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1963	800
THEUVININS CREEK	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1958	789
BIG DUCK CREEK	Indiana	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1940	781
ROARING BROOK	New York	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1981	776
SNAKE CREEK	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1978	774
Bearpen Creek	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1989	740
ASH CREEK	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1949	740
SAND CREEK	Minnesota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1967	680
LITTLE CYPRESS BAYOU	Texas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1967	677
Mike Creek Polk Co.	Arkansas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1991	672
CLOVER CREEK	Pennsylvania	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1908	667
STREAM	Nebraska	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1969	660
S FK CROW RIVER	Minnesota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1973	657
WATER MUNN BROOK	Massachusetts	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1916	646
CROW WING RIVER	Minnesota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1958	643
BAGLEY CREEK	Washington	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1946	636
BELLEFONTAINE CREEK	Mississippi	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1984	630
DRAINAGE DITCH	Washington	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1971	612
WASHINGTON CREEK	Minnesota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1962	610
BOGUE CHITTO R.	Louisiana	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1979	610
DUCK RIVER	Tennessee	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1945	601
TURTLE RIVER	North Dakota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Good	2005	600
NUEVE PASOS RIVER	Puerto Rico	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1959	600
TOUTLE RIVER	Washington	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1981	600
CREEK	North Dakota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1958	580
LAMPREY RIVER	New Hampshire	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1914	547
ELM CREEK	Minnesota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1964	530
N FK YELLOW BANK RIVER	Minnesota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1975	520
WATER STAGE BROOK	Massachusetts	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1956	517
WATER SNAKE RIVER	Massachusetts	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1967	517
PHILLIPS CREEK	Arkansas	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Fair	1955	500
CASSERLY CREEK TRIB NO 1	California	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1915	500
NEWELL CREEK	California	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1958	500
LAUREL RUN	Pennsylvania	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1832	500
BIG RUN	Pennsylvania	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1974	500
ROELIFF JANSEN OVERFLOW	New York	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1939	487
ANTELOPE CREEK	North Dakota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Good	1990	485
HEART RIVER	North Dakota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Good	1990	485
TUTTLE LAKE OUTLET	Minnesota	Scour Critical — Unaddressed	Poor	1959	480

Scour Critical Bridges by State

States ranked by number of scour critical bridges.

State	Scour Critical	Unaddressed	Countermeasures	Ineffective
Texas	3,912	75	516	3,321
Pennsylvania	2,233	45	2,187	1
Louisiana	1,302	13	1,288	1
South Carolina	1,263	0	1,217	46
Oregon	1,231	4	1,221	6
Michigan	1,081	14	1,062	5
Nebraska	962	224	732	6
New York	864	9	780	75
Indiana	756	7	749	0
Wisconsin	751	0	748	3
Kansas	638	9	626	3
California	623	27	562	34
Tennessee	581	12	569	0
Washington	516	14	487	15
Puerto Rico	496	9	487	0
Alabama	450	1	423	26
Iowa	392	3	385	4
New Jersey	362	2	360	0
Florida	357	4	339	14
Oklahoma	317	33	283	1
Missouri	312	4	307	1
Mississippi	301	6	286	9
Connecticut	279	0	276	3
Minnesota	257	38	202	17
Vermont	242	0	240	2
Colorado	241	3	238	0
Idaho	215	18	186	11
South Dakota	207	3	203	1
Arkansas	187	3	129	55
Massachusetts	166	15	106	45
Montana	166	13	140	13
Arizona	164	2	160	2
West Virginia	160	2	98	60
Alaska	159	1	146	12
Maine	140	13	126	1
North Carolina	130	9	105	16
New Mexico	127	4	114	9
North Dakota	102	14	87	1
Utah	100	6	82	12
Georgia	99	1	81	17
Illinois	99	3	85	11
Nevada	94	0	85	9
Rhode Island	94	0	93	1
New Hampshire	86	2	78	6
Hawaii	83	0	82	1
Kentucky	56	16	39	1
Maryland	54	1	51	2
Wyoming	51	1	48	2
Delaware	39	0	39	0
Ohio	12	2	4	6
Virginia	8	0	8	0
District of Columbia	5	0	4	1

Scour Critical Rating Codes

Code 2 — Unaddressed	Bridge is scour critical with no countermeasures installed. The foundation is vulnerable and no protective action has been taken.
Code 3 — Countermeasures Installed	Protective measures (riprap, sheet piling, etc.) have been installed to reduce scour risk, but the bridge remains classified as scour critical.
Code 6 — Countermeasures Ineffective	Protective measures were installed but have been assessed as ineffective. The bridge requires re-evaluation and additional action.

About Scour Critical Bridges

Scour critical bridges have been identified through underwater inspection or analysis as having foundations that are unstable or could become unstable during flood conditions. FHWA requires action plans for all scour critical bridges. Famous scour failures include the 1987 Schoharie Creek Bridge collapse in New York.

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