County profile · official public datasets

Washington County, KS

335 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 54.9% rated Good, 41.2% Fair, 3.9% Poor.

335
Public bridges
54.9%
Good condition
3.9%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Washington County posts a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

Top 44%
lowest Poor share in state
3.9%
Poor-condition share
335
public highway bridges
1975
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 #46 of 104 Kansas counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 3.9%). Washington County, Kansas contains 335 public highway bridges. Roughly 54.9% are rated “Good,” 41.2% “Fair,” and 3.9% “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.

Total bridges

335

Public highway bridges in Washington County

Good condition

54.9%

184 of 335 rated 7-9

Fair condition

41.2%

138 of 335 rated 5-6

Poor condition

3.9%

13 of 335 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#46 of 104

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

Condition distribution

Share of 335 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
54.9% (184)
Fair
41.2% (138)
Poor
3.9% (13)

Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 1,015 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 3.9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 78 crossings a day against 217 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 335 of 335 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

42.7% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

143 of the 335 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 54.9% 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 45.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

RS 1104 P-24.2 over TRIB. TO PEATS CREEK, built 1925, carries 460 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 13-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 1,015 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

335 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 68 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.3% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1975) matches the Kansas average (1972).

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

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

The 5 Kansas counties nearest Washington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 3.9% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1975 against a peer-group mean of 1966 is 9 years newer.

Showing the 5 closest of 103 Kansas counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Washington County and the 5 Kansas counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Cowley County 337 5.3%
Washington County (this page) 335 3.9%
Franklin County 332 4.2%
Miami County 326 3.4%
Montgomery County 326 5.5%
Marion County 324 9.6%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside KS (335 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside KS (1975 here).

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

All 335 Good 184 Fair 138 Poor 13

All bridges (335)

US-36 HWY

Good

Over: DAVIS CREEK

1.14 MI E REPUBLIC COLN, Washington, KS

Built 1993 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 1,150

RS 1418 16-X.2

Good

Over: TRIB. TO BEAVER CREEK

5.0N 3.3W OF BARNES, Washington, KS

Built 2011 Load: 52.2 t ADT: 50

RS 1420 H-9.0

Good

Over: GRAY CREEK

3.0N 3.5W OF MORROWVILLE, Washington, KS

Built 2007 Load: 53.3 t ADT: 65

RS 657 R-8.5

Good

Over: DEVILS CREEK

5.5N OF WASHINGTON, Washington, KS

Built 2003 Load: 53.4 t ADT: 190

23-G.4 213

Good

Over: PARSONS CREEK

4.4E OF CALDERHEAD, Washington, KS

Built 2014 Load: 54.2 t ADT: 45

RS 567 E-10.8

Good

Over: MYER CREEK

1.0E 0.2N OF HADDAM, Washington, KS

Built 1998 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 80

US36

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

0.6 MI E U36/K15 EJCT, Washington, KS

Built 1999 Load: 55.3 t ADT: 2,610

19-F.2 144

Good

Over: PARSONS CREEK

1.2E 9.0S OF HADDAM, Washington, KS

Built 2020 Load: 56.4 t ADT: 30

S-23.1 235

Good

Over: TRIB. COON CREEK

2.9E OF LINN, Washington, KS

Built 2017 Load: 56.8 t ADT: 20

25-V.4 336

Good

Over: TRIBUTARY TO COON CREEK

0.4E 5.0S OF GREENLEAF, Washington, KS

Built 1996 Load: 58.0 t ADT: 20

T-7.4 324

Good

Over: TRIB. MILL CREEK

1.0N 7.0W OF HANOVER, Washington, KS

Built 1980 Load: 58.3 t ADT: 30

339 26-Y.1

Good

Over: TRIB TO COON CREEK

5.0S 2.4W OF BARNES, Washington, KS

Built 2012 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 10

US36

Good

Over: LANE BRANCH CREEK

2.8 MI W U36/K148 JCT, Washington, KS

Built 1999 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 2,390

RS 1097 18-I.8

Good

Over: TRIB. TO PEATS CREEK

4.0S 8.2W OF WASHINGTON, Washington, KS

Built 1984 Load: 59.6 t ADT: 45

29-Y.2 306

Good

Over: NORTH FORK FANCY CREEK

4.3E OF KIMEO, Washington, KS

Built 1996 Load: 60.1 t ADT: 20

K-148 HWY

Good

Over: PEATS CREEK DRAINAGE

12.95 MI E REP. CO LINE, Washington, KS

Built 2023 Load: 64.5 t ADT: 573

D-30.9 269

Good

Over: SCRIBNER CREEK

1.0W 0.1N OF VINING, Washington, KS

Built 1981 Load: 64.8 t ADT: 45

25-F.5 210

Good

Over: TRIB. TO PARSONS CREEK

6.0N 0.5E OF CLIFTON, Washington, KS

Built 2005 Load: 65.4 t ADT: 40

K-15 HWY

Good

Over: MELVIN CREEK

0.68 MI N WJCT US-36, Washington, KS

Built 2011 Load: 65.4 t ADT: 1,050

T-8.8 116

Good

Over: DEVILS CREEK

7.3W 0.4S OF HANOVER, Washington, KS

Built 2014 Load: 65.8 t ADT: 40

19-J.5 152

Good

Over: TRIB. TO PEATS CREEK

7.5N 2.8W OF PALMER, Washington, KS

Built 1987 Load: 70.7 t ADT: 25

US36 HWY

Good

Over: BUFFALO CREEK

0.97MI EWJCTK15 15W, Washington, KS

Built 1941 Load: 81.6 t ADT: 2,030

O-14.6 159

Poor

Over: TRIB. TO CAMP CREEK

3.0W 0.7S OF WASHINGTON, Washington, KS

Built 1920 Load: 3.8 t ADT: 30

12-S.8 115

Poor

Over: TRIB. TO MILL CREEK

1.8E 1.7N OF WASHINGTON, Washington, KS

Built 1920 Load: 7.2 t ADT: 30

29-R.2 298

Poor

Over: CARTER CREEK

2.5W OF KIMEO, Washington, KS

Built 1930 Load: 9.1 t ADT: 15

Q-2.8 33

Poor

Over: JOY CREEK

0.2S 4.0W OF HOLLENBERG, Washington, KS

Built 1975 Load: 10.8 t ADT: 30

A-10.95 54

Poor

Over: CHERRY CREEK

3.5W OF HADDAM, Washington, KS

Built 1970 Load: 11.4 t ADT: 20

31-U.8 302

Poor

Over: DEADMAN CREEK

1.0E 2.0S OF KIMEO, Washington, KS

Built 1945 Load: 11.5 t ADT: 10

8.6-AA.1 335

Poor

Over: TRIB TO LITTLE BLUE RV

HANOVER, Washington, KS

Built 1940 Load: 15.0 t ADT: 40

DD-20.95 197

Poor

Over: TRIB. LITTLE BLUE RIVER

2.5E OF BARNES, Washington, KS

Built 1920 Load: 16.2 t ADT: 20

4-L.5 29

Poor

Over: TRIB. TO RIDDLE CREEK

1.2E 7.8N OF MORROWVILLE, Washington, KS

Built 1925 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 15

13-K.7 329

Poor

Over: MELVIN CREEK

0.1E 1.2S OF MORROWVILLE, Washington, KS

Built 1950 Load: 17.8 t ADT: 40

18-DD.1 199

Poor

Over: BOLLING CREEK

2.6E 3.0N OF BARNES, Washington, KS

Built 1950 Load: 18.4 t ADT: 30

K22 HWY

Poor

Over: MULBERRY CREEK

1.64 MI N US36, Washington, KS

Built 1949 Load: 21.3 t ADT: 275

RS 1104 P-24.2

Poor

Over: TRIB. TO PEATS CREEK

1.2S OF LINN, Washington, KS

Built 1925 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 460

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

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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.