Total bridges
527
Public highway bridges in New Castle County
County profile · official public datasets
New Castle County, DE
527 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 34.9% rated Good, 64.1% Fair, 0.9% Poor.
- 527
- Public bridges
- 34.9%
- Good condition
- 0.9%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
New Castle County posts a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across large county bridge inventory.
- Top 33%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 0.9%
- Poor-condition share
- 527
- public highway bridges
- 1976
- 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.
New Castle County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, New Castle County ranks #1 of 3 Delaware counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 0.9%). New Castle County, Delaware contains 527 public highway bridges. Roughly 34.9% are rated “Good,” 64.1% “Fair,” and 0.9% “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
34.9%
184 of 527 rated 7-9
Fair condition
64.1%
338 of 527 rated 5-6
Poor condition
0.9%
5 of 527 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#1 of 3
Among Delaware counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 527 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 34.9% (184)
Fair 64.1% (338)
Poor 0.9% (5)
New Castle County's Poor-condition bridges carry 16,646 vehicle crossings a day
That is 0.2% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 0.9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 3,329 crossings a day against 13,982 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 527 of 527 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
46.1% of New Castle County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
243 of the 527 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 34.9% 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 63.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
DUPONT PKW/US13 SB over BLACKBIRD CREEK, built 1920, carries 10,619 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 5-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 16,646 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When New Castle County's bridges were built
527 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- pre-1900 3
Built before 1900
3 bridges
- 1900s 6
1900–1909
6 bridges
- 1910s 7
1910–1919
7 bridges
- 1920s 21
1920–1929
21 bridges
- 1930s 25
1930–1939
25 bridges
- 1940s 10
1940–1949
10 bridges
- 1950s 31
1950–1959
31 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
103 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
88 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
42 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
91 bridges
- 2000s 28
2000–2009
28 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
60 bridges
- 2020s 12
2020–2029
12 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 103 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 19.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1976) matches the Delaware average (1977).
How New Castle County compares with Delaware's closest counties by inventory size
The 2 Delaware counties nearest New Castle County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 0.9% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 3. Its average build year of 1976 against a peer-group mean of 1979 is in line with the group.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle County (this page) | 527 | 34.9% | 64.1% | 0.9% | 1976 |
| Kent County | 192 | 55.7% | 42.7% | 1.6% | 1983 |
| Sussex County | 153 | 40.5% | 57.5% | 2% | 1974 |
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 New Castle 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 New Castle County, both outside Delaware so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside DE (527 bridges here).
- Merced County, CA · 528 bridges
- LaSalle County, IL · 528 bridges
- Nueces County, TX · 528 bridges
- Marathon County, WI · 530 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside DE (1976 here).
- Marion County, IN · avg 1976 · 958 bridges
- Mohave County, AZ · avg 1976 · 641 bridges
- Comanche County, OK · avg 1976 · 593 bridges
- Prince George's County, MD · avg 1976 · 576 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (338)
I 95
FairOver: NORFOLK SOUTHERN
NORTH OF CHRISTIANA INTER, New Castle, DE
Built 1962 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 65,707
I 495 NB
FairOver: SHELLPOT CREEK
EAST OF WILMINGTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1975 Load: 53.8 t ADT: 46,776
I 495 SB
FairOver: SHELLPOT CREEK
EAST OF WILMINGTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1975 Load: 53.8 t ADT: 93,552
THOMPSON BRIDGE RD
FairOver: BRANDYWINE CREEK
E. OF GUYENCOURT, New Castle, DE
Built 1990 Load: 54.1 t ADT: 8,218
FORREST AVE
FairOver: CHESTNUT RUN
ELSMERE, New Castle, DE
Built 1996 Load: 54.1 t ADT: 99
FAULKLAND RD/SR34
FairOver: LITTLE MILL CREEK
NORTH OF PRICES CORNER, New Castle, DE
Built 1967 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 9,597
ROCKLAND RD
FairOver: WILSON RUN
ROCKLAND, New Castle, DE
Built 1925 Load: 54.8 t ADT: 64,449
LIMESTONE RD / SR7
FairOver: CSX RAILROAD
N/W OF STANTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1960 Load: 54.8 t ADT: 46,557
SR 1
FairOver: SCHOOL BELL RD
NEAR BEAR, New Castle, DE
Built 1990 Load: 56.1 t ADT: 46,484
PADDOCK RD.
FairOver: SAW MILL BRANCH
CHAMBERSVILLE, New Castle, DE
Built 1961 Load: 56.4 t ADT: 376
FOULK RD/SR261
FairOver: SHELLPOT CREEK
FAIRFAX, New Castle, DE
Built 1959 Load: 57.3 t ADT: 12,295
FAULKLAND RD/SR34
FairOver: RED CLAY CREEK
N.W. OF PRICES CORNER, New Castle, DE
Built 1967 Load: 57.3 t ADT: 4,704
SIXTH ST
FairOver: CSX
WILMINGTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1950 Load: 57.3 t ADT: 99
MT CUBA ROAD
FairOver: RED CLAY CREEK
S/E OF ASHLAND, New Castle, DE
Built 1969 Load: 58.6 t ADT: 294
DARLEY RD
FairOver: CSX RAILROAD
N/W OF CLAYMONT, New Castle, DE
Built 1953 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 7,677
OLD BALTIMORE PK
FairOver: TRIB OF CHRISTINA CRK
S/E OF NEWARK, New Castle, DE
Built 1982 Load: 59.9 t ADT: 18,628
SR 9 / RIVER ROAD
FairOver: VALERO OIL PIPE LINES
W. OF DELAWARE CITY, New Castle, DE
Built 1955 Load: 60.3 t ADT: 3,961
S. COLLEGE AVE
FairOver: AMTRAK & CONRAIL
NEWARK, New Castle, DE
Built 1936 Load: 61.6 t ADT: 18,140
SMITH BRIDGE RD
FairOver: BRANDYWINE CREEK
N. OF BRANDYWINE CREEK SP, New Castle, DE
Built 1839 Load: 61.9 t ADT: 3,224
TWELTH ST
FairOver: I-495 RD 60
WILMINGTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1977 Load: 64.5 t ADT: 6,253
NEWPORT GAP PIKE
FairOver: RED CLAY CREEK
WEST OF ELSMERE, New Castle, DE
Built 1989 Load: 64.8 t ADT: 16,338
MAIN ST/CHRISTIANA
FairOver: CHRISTINA RIVER
CHRISTIANA, New Castle, DE
Built 1937 Load: 64.8 t ADT: 4,121
SR896
FairOver: MUDDY RUN
NORTH OF GLASGOW, New Castle, DE
Built 1991 Load: 66.1 t ADT: 16,773
KOREAN VET MEM HWY
FairOver: DUPONT HGWY/ US13
S. OF TOWNSEND, New Castle, DE
Built 2003 Load: 66.1 t ADT: 26,437
LANCASTER PK/SR48
FairOver: CSX RAILROAD
WILMINGTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1900 Load: 66.7 t ADT: 25,639
CHURCHMANS RD.
FairOver: I 95
SOUTH OF STANTON, New Castle, DE
Built 2006 Load: 66.7 t ADT: 19,267
FOULK RD/SR261
FairOver: SOUTH BRANCH NAAMANS CK
NORTH OF WILMINGTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1965 Load: 67.7 t ADT: 14,252
KOREAN VET MEM HWY
FairOver: BLACK DIAMOND RD
NORTH OF SMYRNA, New Castle, DE
Built 2003 Load: 69.3 t ADT: 28,060
KOREAN VET MEM HWY
FairOver: BLACK DIAMOND RD
NORTH OF SMYRNA, New Castle, DE
Built 2003 Load: 69.3 t ADT: 28,060
LIMESTONE RD / SR7
FairOver: MILL CREEK
S. OF DELCASTLE REC. AREA, New Castle, DE
Built 1962 Load: 71.9 t ADT: 33,443
MAPLE AVE
FairOver: CHESTNUT RUN
ELSMERE, New Castle, DE
Built 1978 Load: 74.4 t ADT: 99
CORNWELL DR.
FairOver: WATERWAY
E OF LUMS POND STATE PARK, New Castle, DE
Built 1998 Load: 76.5 t ADT: 99
CARR RD
FairOver: SHELLPOT CREEK
NORTH OF WILMINGTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1934 Load: 76.5 t ADT: 1,896
GLENROCK DR
FairOver: SOUTH BRANCH NAAMANS CK
WEST OF CLAYMONT, New Castle, DE
Built 1958 Load: 76.8 t ADT: 99
PAPERMILL RD/SR 72
FairOver: PIKE CREEK
NORTH OF NEWARK, New Castle, DE
Built 1926 Load: 81.0 t ADT: 17,022
NEWPORT GAP PIKE
FairOver: HYDE RUN
NORTH OF STANTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1936 Load: 83.6 t ADT: 13,392
SHIPLEY RD.
FairOver: SHELLPOT CREEK
N/E OF WILMINGTON, New Castle, DE
Built 1991 Load: 97.2 t ADT: 9,380
BLACKBIRD LANDING
FairOver: BLACKBIRD CREEK
E. OF TOWNSEND, New Castle, DE
Built 1969 Load: 97.2 t ADT: 1,022
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.