Strategic Objective: Infrastructure
Key Results: Bridge Assets Condition
Bridge Sufficiency Rating
Accountable: We are responsive to community needs. We are good stewards of County resources.
Why are we collecting this data?
Bridges are crucial to the transportation system, providing safe and functional access across waterways, roads, canyons, and floodplains. However, heavy traffic loads, constant erosion, and debris impacts during floods affect the condition and lifespan of these structures. Regular and thorough inspections are necessary to ensure public safety and the continuity of the transportation network. Neglecting to address bridge conditions through maintenance and repair activities increases the risk of critical damage, which can result in load posting, limiting bridges’ use to heavier truck traffic, and rising maintenance costs. Ultimately, bridges that are not adequately maintained could fail, requiring extensive repairs and/or replacement.
What data is being examined, and what metric is being calculated?
El Paso County Bridge Network: El Paso County (EPC) has 285 bridges, including 177 major and 108 minor bridges. Nine are timber bridges; nearly half of the remaining bridges are steel, and half are concrete. 75% of County bridges are less than 45 years old, 22% are between 45-75 years old, and 3% are older than 75 years. These older bridges can require more frequent inspections, monitoring, and rehabilitation.
Major & Minor Bridges: El Paso County, in coordination with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), is responsible for the biennial inspection reports on major bridges, which are defined as “a traveled crossing with a span over 20 feet.” These 177 major bridges (62%) qualify to apply for federal funds and are part of the CDOT’s ‘Off-System Bridge Program.’ Minor bridges, on the other hand, include traveled crossings with a span between 4 and 20 feet, which many culvert crossings can qualify for.
How Sufficiency Ratings are Calculated: The Federal Highway Administration’s National Bridge Inventory specifications use Sufficiency Ratings to rate bridges according to their structural integrity, serviceability, and other factors. These ratings range from 0 to 100, with 100 indicating a perfect score. El Paso County’s average Bridge Sufficiency Rating was determined by the sum of all the major bridges’ sufficiency ratings divided by the total number of major bridges. In 2022, the average Bridge Sufficiency Rating for all major bridges in El Paso County was 91.
How is the data being used in support of our objective?
To improve the overall condition of the major bridges, El Paso County is working to implement a quality Bridge Management System, as defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), to facilitate meeting the maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement goals. This work will include a Bridge Life Cycle Cost analysis for each major bridge type and will work to increase in-house engineering and maintenance capabilities.
The El Paso County Department of Public Works annually conducts over 125 bridge inspections. These crucial inspections help make informed decisions about budget allocations and prioritize bridge repair projects. As of 2023, El Paso County has over $8 million in expected spending on major bridge projects. In 30 years, the County will have 187 bridges between the ages of 45 and 75. The County is rehabilitating/replacing bridges at an average rate of two per year. At this rate, each bridge will need to last 150 years; however, typical design life is considered 50-75 years. By increasing productivity to just one additional bridge replacement and one additional rehabilitation per year, the life span requirement of the bridges will be decreased to an average of 100 years.
Metric Details and Definition
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- Definition: Statistics related to the El Paso County Bridge Inventory, an understanding of the state of the bridges, current work being done, and the outlook for bridge network. The Bridge Sufficiency Rating is based on a 0-100 scale.
- Calculation Method: The sum of all major bridges’ sufficiency ratings divided by the total number of major bridges.
- Data Collection Process: CDOT and EPC routine bridge inspections.
- Frequency Measure is Reported: Biannually
- Note: The FHWA NBI has revised its rating system, which will be required to be put into effect between FY25 to FY28. El Paso County is working on updating these ratings and developing new targets based on this upcoming data.
Date page was last updated: February 2025
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