Total bridges
174
Public highway bridges in Washington County
County profile · official public datasets
Washington County, IN
174 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 44.8% rated Good, 52.9% Fair, 2.3% Poor.
- 174
- Public bridges
- 44.8%
- Good condition
- 2.3%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Washington County posts a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- Top 21%
- lowest Poor share in state
- 2.3%
- Poor-condition share
- 174
- 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.
Washington County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Washington County ranks #19 of 92 Indiana counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 2.3%). Washington County, Indiana contains 174 public highway bridges. Roughly 44.8% are rated “Good,” 52.9% “Fair,” and 2.3% “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
44.8%
78 of 174 rated 7-9
Fair condition
52.9%
92 of 174 rated 5-6
Poor condition
2.3%
4 of 174 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#19 of 92
Among Indiana counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 174 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 44.8% (78)
Fair 52.9% (92)
Poor 2.3% (4)
Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 8,290 vehicle crossings a day
That is 4% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 2.3% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 2,073 crossings a day against 1,346 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 174 of 174 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
43.1% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
75 of the 174 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 44.8% 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 89.4% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
SR 60 over SOUTH FORK BLUE RIVER, built 1937, carries 7,408 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 4-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 8,290 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
174 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- pre-1900 1
Built before 1900
1 bridges
- 1910s
1910–1919
12 bridges
- 1920s 6
1920–1929
6 bridges
- 1930s 8
1930–1939
8 bridges
- 1940s 7
1940–1949
7 bridges
- 1950s 6
1950–1959
6 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
20 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
23 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
20 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
30 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
16 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
17 bridges
- 2020s 8
2020–2029
8 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 30 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 17.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1976) matches the Indiana average (1978).
How Washington County compares with Indiana's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Indiana counties nearest Washington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 2.3% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1976 against a peer-group mean of 1978 is in line with the group.
Showing the 5 closest of 91 Indiana counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall County | 183 | 55.2% | 41.5% | 3.3% | 1984 |
| Washington County (this page) | 174 | 44.8% | 52.9% | 2.3% | 1976 |
| Newton County | 172 | 41.9% | 56.4% | 1.7% | 1981 |
| Pike County | 172 | 50.6% | 39% | 10.5% | 1978 |
| Miami County | 171 | 34.5% | 57.9% | 7.6% | 1966 |
| Lawrence County | 165 | 32.1% | 58.2% | 9.7% | 1981 |
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 Indiana so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside IN (174 bridges here).
- Hempstead County, AR · 174 bridges
- Eagle County, CO · 174 bridges
- Lac qui Parle County, MN · 174 bridges
- Sussex County, NJ · 174 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside IN (1976 here).
- Mohave County, AZ · avg 1976 · 641 bridges
- Comanche County, OK · avg 1976 · 593 bridges
- Prince George's County, MD · avg 1976 · 576 bridges
- New Castle County, DE · avg 1976 · 527 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Good-condition bridges (78)
BROADWAY ROAD
GoodOver: W FORK BLUE RIVER
00.30 N of QUAKER ROAD, Washington, IN
Built 2020 Load: 37.9 t ADT: 225
CANTON RD S
GoodOver: BR W FK BLUE RIVER
00.90 N CANTON S BOSTON, Washington, IN
Built 2016 Load: 40.5 t ADT: 1,120
SR 135
GoodOver: SOUTH FORK BLUE RIVER
05.62 N US 150, Washington, IN
Built 2007 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 3,218
SR 135
GoodOver: BEAR CREEK
04.18 N US 150, Washington, IN
Built 2007 Load: 41.5 t ADT: 3,491
ELK CREEK RD
GoodOver: ELK CREEK
00.80 SW of MOUNT Rd, Washington, IN
Built 2021 Load: 42.0 t ADT: 120
EASTERN SCHOOL RD
GoodOver: BR S FORK BLUE RIVER
02.00 S MOTSINGER RD, Washington, IN
Built 1960 Load: 42.1 t ADT: 300
SR 256
GoodOver: MUSCATATUCK RIVER OVFL
01.20 E SR 39, Washington, IN
Built 2023 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 838
SR 135
GoodOver: HOGGATT BRANCH
01.76 S SR 60, Washington, IN
Built 2004 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 4,473
QUAKER RD
GoodOver: W FORK BLUE RIVER
01.80 W SR 56, Washington, IN
Built 2020 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 235
BLUE RIVER RD
GoodOver: BR S FK BLUE RIVER
00.50 W of POLK SCHOOL Rd, Washington, IN
Built 2023 Load: 46.7 t ADT: 373
LITTLE YORK/S-BURG
GoodOver: HONEY CREEK
00.40 E of SR 39, Washington, IN
Built 2001 Load: 48.3 t ADT: 338
Little York Rd
GoodOver: Branch of Elk Creek
00.29 E of N Rutherford R, Washington, IN
Built 1970 Load: 51.1 t ADT: 326
SR 56
GoodOver: WEST FORK BLUE RIVER
03.07 E SR 135, Washington, IN
Built 1972 Load: 51.5 t ADT: 5,517
SR 56
GoodOver: BROCK CREEK
00.20 W SR 135, Washington, IN
Built 2023 Load: 51.8 t ADT: 15,120
SR 60
GoodOver: SR 160
00.50 W SR 135, Washington, IN
Built 2012 Load: 52.2 t ADT: 7,298
SR 60
GoodOver: MARKET STREET
01.01 W SR 135, Washington, IN
Built 2012 Load: 52.2 t ADT: 7,298
SR 60
GoodOver: UNT HAGGATT BRANCH
00.08 N SR 135, Washington, IN
Built 2012 Load: 52.8 t ADT: 7,298
West MARKET St
GoodOver: HIGHLAND CREEK
01.20 W of MAIN St, Washington, IN
Built 1965 Load: 53.0 t ADT: 830
SR 160
GoodOver: BR MIDDLE FK BLUE RIVER
05.60 E SR 60, Washington, IN
Built 2018 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 1,001
SR 135
GoodOver: MARTINSBURG ROAD
00.79 W SR 60, Washington, IN
Built 2012 Load: 56.1 t ADT: 1,348
SR 60
GoodOver: CSX RR
01.53 W SR 135, Washington, IN
Built 2012 Load: 60.9 t ADT: 7,298
HONEY CREEK Rd
GoodOver: HONEY Creek
00.30 N of VALEENE Pike, Washington, IN
Built 2012 Load: 82.8 t ADT: 120
SR 56
GoodOver: CANTON CREEK
03.94 E SR 135, Washington, IN
Built 1972 Load: 88.2 t ADT: 5,517
SR 56
GoodOver: BRANCH ELK CREEK
03.38 W SR 39, Washington, IN
Built 1972 Load: 88.2 t ADT: 3,992
SR 60
GoodOver: HAGGATT BRANCH
00.24 E SR 160, Washington, IN
Built 1947 Load: 88.2 t ADT: 8,905
HARRISTOWN RD
GoodOver: BR W FK BLUE RIVER
00.40 E CANTON RD S, Washington, IN
Built 2009 Load: 89.0 t ADT: 52
MT ZION CHURCH RD
GoodOver: JEFF BR S FORK BLUE R
01.70 S CONWAY CHURCH RD, Washington, IN
Built 2006 Load: 90.7 t ADT: 117
OLD SR 56
GoodOver: ELK CREEK
00.06 W of Elk Creek Road, Washington, IN
Built 2019 Load: 90.7 t ADT: 150
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.