Total bridges
449
Public highway bridges in Washington County
County profile · official public datasets
Washington County, AR
449 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 22.3% rated Good, 70.8% Fair, 6.9% Poor.
- 449
- Public bridges
- 22.3%
- Good condition
- 6.9%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Washington County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- 51st
- of 75 on Poor share
- 6.9%
- Poor-condition share
- 449
- public highway bridges
- 1982
- avg year built
Poor is an FHWA condition category from the lowest applicable component rating (4 or below), not a live crossing-safety or closure decision. Rankings cover counties with at least five public highway bridges.
Washington County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Washington County ranks #51 of 75 Arkansas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 6.9%). Washington County, Arkansas contains 449 public highway bridges. Roughly 22.3% are rated “Good,” 70.8% “Fair,” and 6.9% “Poor.” Poor means the lowest applicable deck, superstructure, substructure, or culvert rating is 4 or below on the 0–9 NBI scale. It is a condition category, not a live safety or closure decision.
Responsible agencies inspect covered bridges on risk-based intervals under current NBIS rules and submit inventory data to FHWA annually. The list below shows every NBI-tracked bridge in the county. Use the “Sort by” controls to change the ordering, and click any row for its reported inspection date, traffic count, and condition fields.
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory. See methodology for full definitions.
Good condition
22.3%
100 of 449 rated 7-9
Fair condition
70.8%
318 of 449 rated 5-6
Poor condition
6.9%
31 of 449 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#51 of 75
Among Arkansas counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 449 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 22.3% (100)
Fair 70.8% (318)
Poor 6.9% (31)
Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 44,785 vehicle crossings a day
That is 1.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 6.9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,445 crossings a day against 7,949 for a Good-condition one. A Poor rating is a condition category, not a closure or a live safety judgement; it means the lowest applicable component rating is 4 or below.
Computed over the 449 of 449 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
29.4% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
132 of the 449 bridges with a recorded construction year were built in 1974 or earlier. Age alone is not a defect: a well-maintained older bridge can rate Good, and 22.3% of this county's inventory does. Even so, this older cohort is the population from which future Poor ratings are drawn, which is why the age profile below matters alongside the condition split above.
Cutoff derives from the 2024 release year minus a 50-year design life. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
One structure carries 29% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
East Huntsville Rd over Spout Spring Br. - Fay., built 1940, carries 13,000 vehicles a day, the most of any Poor-rated structure here. The county's Poor-condition exposure is concentrated rather than evenly spread, so the 31-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 44,785 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Washington County's bridges were built
449 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- pre-1900 1
Built before 1900
1 bridges
- 1920s 13
1920–1929
13 bridges
- 1930s 30
1930–1939
30 bridges
- 1940s 13
1940–1949
13 bridges
- 1950s 14
1950–1959
14 bridges
- 1960s 28
1960–1969
28 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
74 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
76 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
95 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
59 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
44 bridges
- 2020s 2
2020–2029
2 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 95 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1982) matches the Arkansas average (1980).
How Washington County compares with Arkansas's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Arkansas counties nearest Washington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 6.9% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1982 against a peer-group mean of 1986 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 74 Arkansas counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County (this page) | 449 | 22.3% | 70.8% | 6.9% | 1982 |
| Craighead County | 442 | 65.8% | 31% | 3.2% | 1995 |
| Benton County | 410 | 49% | 47.1% | 3.9% | 1992 |
| Jefferson County | 336 | 68.8% | 26.2% | 5.1% | 1987 |
| Sebastian County | 331 | 34.4% | 59.8% | 5.7% | 1979 |
| White County | 322 | 44.1% | 50.6% | 5.3% | 1978 |
Each share is of that county's own total tracked bridges; peers are the counties with 5 or more bridges whose inventory size is closest to Washington County's. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
Nationwide counties with similar inventory size or average build year
Two NBI-derived peer sets for Washington County, both outside Arkansas so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside AR (449 bridges here).
- Sioux County, IA · 449 bridges
- Barton County, KS · 449 bridges
- Grady County, OK · 449 bridges
- Dauphin County, PA · 449 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside AR (1982 here).
- Oklahoma County, OK · avg 1982 · 1,216 bridges
- Jackson County, MO · avg 1982 · 930 bridges
- Milwaukee County, WI · avg 1982 · 893 bridges
- Champaign County, IL · avg 1982 · 727 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (318)
US 71 B NB LNS
FairOver: Clear Creek-Washington
5.47 MI SO BENTON CO LINE, Washington, AR
Built 1972 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 18,500
US 71-SEC 17B NB
FairOver: Gregg Ave. A&M RR.
5.21 NO JCT US 62 & 71, Washington, AR
Built 1979 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 41,000
US 71-Wash Co.
FairOver: ST L - SF RAILROAD
0.4 MI N 71-71B INTER, Washington, AR
Built 1979 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 13,000
I-49 Northbound
FairOver: Clear Creek - Wash. Co.
2.2 MI N INT I-49&71B, Washington, AR
Built 1984 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 13,500
I-49 Northbound
FairOver: Ravine-Washington Co.
11.4 N. OF WASH CO LINE, Washington, AR
Built 1998 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,399
I-49 Northnound
FairOver: Farm Road - Wash. Co.
0.76 MI N OF EXIT 53, Washington, AR
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 11,500
I 49 NB LANES
FairOver: W. Wilson Street - Wash.
JCT I 49 & CO RD 26, Washington, AR
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 13,000
Interstate 49 NB
FairOver: State Highway 265
JCT I 49& SH 265, Washington, AR
Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 16,056
I 49 NB LNS
FairOver: BLACKBURN CREEK
.5 MI N OF HOPPER TUNNEL, Washington, AR
Built 1997 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 10,500
I 49 NB LNS
FairOver: HESS CREEK
1.7 MI.N of Hopper Tunnel, Washington, AR
Built 1998 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 10,500
I 49 NB LANES
FairOver: Riley Creek - Wash. Co.
2.32 MI. S SH 170, Washington, AR
Built 1997 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,300
I 49 NB LNS-Wash
FairOver: Winn Creek / CoRd 228
5.2 MI. S. SH 170, Washington, AR
Built 1997 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,300
I49 NB Lanes-Wash
FairOver: Boyd Hollow Access Road
3.95 MI S. SH 170, Washington, AR
Built 1997 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 19,500
US 412-East Bound
FairOver: Beaver Lake
7.1 Mi E. Jct Hwy US 71B, Washington, AR
Built 1999 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 7,513
SH 180 SEC 0
FairOver: Stream-Washington Co.
0.3 MI EAST OF SH 112, Washington, AR
Built 1981 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 27,375
US 71-Washington
FairOver: Cato Springs Branch
0.1 MI S JCT SH 265 & 16, Washington, AR
Built 1971 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 13,000
State Highway 156
FairOver: Debra Creek-Washington
2 MI W OF WEST FORK, Washington, AR
Built 1972 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,200
State Highway 244
FairOver: Creek - Washington Co.
3.71 Mi E Jct Hwy 59, Washington, AR
Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 350
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBridges
Every figure on PlainBridges is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. NBI condition categories reflect the latest reported inventory record, not a live safety, closure, or travel decision.