County profile · official public datasets

Washington County, IL

233 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 50.6% rated Good, 43.3% Fair, 6% Poor.

233
Public bridges
50.6%
Good condition
6%
Poor condition

The verdict

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.

Washington County pairs a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.

Top 25%
lowest Poor share in state
6%
Poor-condition share
233
public highway bridges
1973
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 #25 of 102 Illinois counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 6%). Washington County, Illinois contains 233 public highway bridges. Roughly 50.6% are rated “Good,” 43.3% “Fair,” and 6% “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.

Total bridges

233

Public highway bridges in Washington County

Good condition

50.6%

118 of 233 rated 7-9

Fair condition

43.3%

101 of 233 rated 5-6

Poor condition

6%

14 of 233 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#25 of 102

Among Illinois counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better

Condition distribution

Share of 233 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
50.6% (118)
Fair
43.3% (101)
Poor
6% (14)

Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 41,370 vehicle crossings a day

That is 8.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 6% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 2,955 crossings a day against 1,003 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 233 of 233 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

42.9% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

100 of the 233 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 50.6% 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 33.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

I-64 EB over Prairie Rd Abandoned UPR, built 1972, carries 14,000 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 14-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 41,370 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

233 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 50 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1973, 6 years older than the Illinois average of 1979.

Source FHWA National Bridge Inventory (year built) As of 2024 NBI release

How Washington County compares with Illinois's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Illinois counties nearest Washington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 6% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1973 against a peer-group mean of 1983 is 10 years older.

Showing the 5 closest of 101 Illinois counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Washington County and the 5 Illinois counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Morgan County 234 8.5%
Washington County (this page) 233 6%
Douglas County 232 1.3%
Clark County 230 4.8%
Jackson County 228 6.6%
McHenry County 227 20.3%

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 Illinois so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside IL (233 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside IL (1973 here).

Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.

Fair-condition bridges (101)

TR 70A

Fair

Over: WEAVER CREEK

NE 1/4 SEC17 T25 R4W, Washington, IL

Built 1986 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 200

TR 15

Fair

Over: BR OF GRAND POINT CK

1 MI SE OFNOLTING, Washington, IL

Built 1987 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 25

CH 1

Fair

Over: BROF BEAVER POND CK

NE 1/4 SEC 5 TZS R3W, Washington, IL

Built 1987 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 350

CH 12

Fair

Over: MUD CREEK

SW 1/4 SEC 16 T35R5W, Washington, IL

Built 1988 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 800

CH 18

Fair

Over: SEWER CREEK

0.7 MI N OF NOLTINGS, Washington, IL

Built 1992 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 550

TR 2

Fair

Over: BR. OF MUD CREEK

5 NILE N OF TILDEN, Washington, IL

Built 1994 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 175

FAS 836

Fair

Over: PUNCHEON CK

2.75 MI EAST DUBOIS, Washington, IL

Built 1989 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 550

TR 111

Fair

Over: GRAND POINT CREEK

3 MI. NW RICHVIEW, Washington, IL

Built 1990 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 50

CH 7

Fair

Over: HICKORY CREEK

2.25 MI E POSON, Washington, IL

Built 1991 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 100

TR 225

Fair

Over: ELKHORN CREEK

1 MI SW CORDES, Washington, IL

Built 1993 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 50

TR 244

Fair

Over: BR OF LITTLE MUDDY

0.5M S OF RADOM, Washington, IL

Built 1995 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 150

TR 70A

Fair

Over: ELKHORN CREEK

1.75 MI N OF ELKTON, Washington, IL

Built 1997 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 50

FAS 788

Fair

Over: CROOKED CREEK

4 MI N HOYLETON, Washington, IL

Built 2006 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 1,200

TR 197

Fair

Over: LITTLE MUDDY RIVER

0.75 MI SW ASHLEY, Washington, IL

Built 2007 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 25

TR 205

Fair

Over: LOCUST CREEK

2.75 MI SW NASHVILLE, Washington, IL

Built 2006 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 10

TR 250

Fair

Over: WEBSTER CREEK

1M WEST OF WAMAC, Washington, IL

Built 2008 Load: 32.4 t ADT: 75

FAI 64 EB

Fair

Over: NORTH CREEK

1.38M W OF ILL 127, Washington, IL

Built 1969 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 14,650

FAI 64 WB

Fair

Over: NORTH CREEK

1.36 MI W ILL 127, Washington, IL

Built 1969 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 14,650

I-64 EB

Fair

Over: ICRR

0.38 mi W of US 51, Washington, IL

Built 1972 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 14,000

I-64 WB

Fair

Over: ICRR

0.38 mi W of US 51, Washington, IL

Built 1972 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 14,000

ILL 127

Fair

Over: BR OF CROOKED CR

1.4 MI N OF ILL 177, Washington, IL

Built 1936 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 2,650

TR 35

Fair

Over: BR GRAND POINT CR

0.5 MI N IRVINGTON, Washington, IL

Built 1916 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 50

TR 35

Fair

Over: BR GRAND POINT CR

2MI NW IRVINGTON, Washington, IL

Built 1918 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 50

ILL 15 & US 51

Fair

Over: Little Muddy River

0.6 MI W C L ASHLEY, Washington, IL

Built 1921 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 2,300

FAI 64 EB

Fair

Over: BEAVER POND CREEK

4 MI W ILL 127, Washington, IL

Built 1969 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 14,650

FAI 64 WB

Fair

Over: BEAVER POND CREEK

4 MI W ILL 127, Washington, IL

Built 1969 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 14,650

IL 177/160

Fair

Over: KASKASKIA OVERFLOW

3.7M W OF OKAWVILLE, Washington, IL

Built 1997 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 1,750

TR 2

Fair

Over: LITTLE MUDDY CREEK

1 MILE S ST LIBORY, Washington, IL

Built 1971 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 175

TR 263

Fair

Over: S. FORK OF MUD CREEK

4MI SW OF LIVELY GRV, Washington, IL

Built 1999 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 200

CH 1

Fair

Over: BR BEAVER POND CREEK

0.5 MI E ADDIEVILLE, Washington, IL

Built 1919 Load: 36.6 t ADT: 450

ILL 177

Fair

Over: FAI 64

E EDGE OKAWVILLE, Washington, IL

Built 1970 Load: 37.6 t ADT: 3,600

FAI 64 EB

Fair

Over: KASKASKIA RIVER

CLINTON CO LINE, Washington, IL

Built 1971 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 15,500

FAI 64 WB

Fair

Over: KASKASKIA RIVER

CLINTON CO LINE, Washington, IL

Built 1971 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 15,500

TR 33

Fair

Over: BR LITTLE CROOKED CR

1.6 MI N NEW MINDEN, Washington, IL

Built 1916 Load: 38.2 t ADT: 50

TR 160

Fair

Over: COON BRANCH

4 MI NW OF HOYLETON, Washington, IL

Built 1917 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 50

TR 3

Fair

Over: DODDS BRANCH

WASH-PERRY COUNTY LI, Washington, IL

Built 1917 Load: 38.6 t ADT: 25

TR 74

Fair

Over: WILLIAMS CR

1.25 MI S ILL 15, Washington, IL

Built 1925 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 25

ILL 15

Fair

Over: Beaucoup Creek

3.8 MI W JCT U S 51, Washington, IL

Built 1921 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 2,050

ILL 15

Fair

Over: BLACK CREEK

2.3mi W of US 51 W Jct, Washington, IL

Built 1921 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 2,050

ILL 127

Fair

Over: OVERFLOW CROOKED CR

1.8 M S IL 161, Washington, IL

Built 1934 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 2,750

CH 22

Fair

Over: NORTH CREEK

2 MI WEST HUEGELY, Washington, IL

Built 1916 Load: 43.1 t ADT: 525

ILL 15

Fair

Over: ELKHORN CREEK

0.6 MI E JCT ILL 153, Washington, IL

Built 1933 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 2,050

ILL 177

Fair

Over: LITTLE CROOKED CREEK

2.5 MI W of IL 127, Washington, IL

Built 1931 Load: 44.1 t ADT: 1,550

FAS RT 831

Fair

Over: BR OF ARCHIE CREEK

3.5 MI NW OF OAKDALE, Washington, IL

Built 1968 Load: 44.7 t ADT: 400

ILL 127

Fair

Over: CROOKED CREEK

1 MI S JCT 161, Washington, IL

Built 1934 Load: 46.0 t ADT: 2,750

ILL 177

Fair

Over: PLUM CREEK

1 MI W OF I-64, Washington, IL

Built 1936 Load: 47.0 t ADT: 3,150

ILL 127

Fair

Over: MIDDLE CREEK

2.9 M N NASHVILLE, Washington, IL

Built 1933 Load: 51.2 t ADT: 10,100

FAI 64 WB

Fair

Over: PLUM CREEK

1.25M NW OKAWVILLE, Washington, IL

Built 1969 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 15,500

FAI 64 EB

Fair

Over: PLUM CREEK

1.25 NW OKAWVILLE, Washington, IL

Built 1969 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 15,500

ILL 15

Fair

Over: NASHVILLE CREEK

0.7 MI E ILL 127, Washington, IL

Built 1921 Load: 56.1 t ADT: 3,300
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.