County profile · official public datasets

Washington County, ME

110 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 38.2% rated Good, 42.7% Fair, 19.1% Poor.

110
Public bridges: 38.2%
Good condition: 19.1%
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.

12th
of 16 on Poor share: 19.1%
Poor-condition share: 110
public highway bridges: 1972
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 #12 of 16 Maine counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 19.1%). Washington County, Maine contains 110 public highway bridges. Roughly 38.2% are rated “Good,” 42.7% “Fair,” and 19.1% “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

110

Public highway bridges in Washington County

Good condition

38.2%

42 of 110 rated 7-9

Fair condition

42.7%

47 of 110 rated 5-6

Poor condition

19.1%

21 of 110 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#12 of 16

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

Condition distribution

Share of 110 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good

38.2% (42)

Fair

42.7% (47)

Poor

19.1% (21)

Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 21,293 vehicle crossings a day

That is 11.4% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 19.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,014 crossings a day against 2,415 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 110 of 110 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

55.5% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

61 of the 110 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 38.2% 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 21.2% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

ROUTE 1 over CHANDLER RIVER, built 1934, carries 4,513 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 21-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 21,293 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

1900s

2
1910s

1
1920s

7
1930s

12
1940s

11
1950s

14
1960s

9
1970s

6
1980s

5
1990s

9
2000s

16
2010s

15
2020s

3

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 16 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 14.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1972) matches the Maine average (1970).

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

The 5 Maine counties nearest Washington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 19.1% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1972 against a peer-group mean of 1967 is 5 years newer.

Showing the 5 closest of 15 Maine counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Washington County and the 5 Maine counties closest to it in inventory size
County	Bridges	Good	Fair	Poor	Avg. built
Androscoggin County	135	41.5%	48.1%	10.4%	1974
Franklin County	128	24.2%	53.9%	21.9%	1968
Washington County (this page)	110	38.2%	42.7%	19.1%	1972
Waldo County	92	16.3%	66.3%	17.4%	1964
Piscataquis County	80	18.8%	60%	21.3%	1966
Hancock County	70	21.4%	55.7%	22.9%	1964

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside ME (110 bridges here).

Lincoln County, AR · 110 bridges
Sharp County, AR · 110 bridges
Jerome County, ID · 110 bridges
Comanche County, KS · 110 bridges

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside ME (1972 here).

Santa Clara County, CA · avg 1972 · 964 bridges
Madison County, AL · avg 1972 · 710 bridges
Kern County, CA · avg 1972 · 668 bridges
York County, PA · avg 1972 · 569 bridges

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

All 110 Good 42 Fair 47 Poor 21

Good-condition bridges (42)

Sort:

Washington County Bridge Snapshot

Condition distribution

Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 21,293 vehicle crossings a day

55.5% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

One structure carries 21.2% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

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

Nationwide counties with similar inventory size or average build year

Similar inventory size

Similar average build year

Good-condition bridges (42)

MAIN ST

HOWARD MILL ROAD

GOODALL HEATH ROAD

WILLOW ST

US 1

GRAND LAKE STREAM

US ROUTE 1

HOULTON RD

US ROUTE 1

ST CROIX VANCEBORO

BRIDGE ST

AIRLINE RD

BASIN RD

HALLS MILLS RD

BRIDGE ST

JOHNSON COVE RD

KING ST

AIRLINE RD

MILFORD RD

JACKSONVILLE RD

INTERNATIONAL AV

TWP 19 RD

MAIN ST

COVE RD

AIRLINE RD

US 1

INTERNATIONAL AV

COUNTY RD

N MAIN ST

BRIDGE ST

NEILDS AV

US HIGHWAY 1A

AIRLINE RD

NORTHFIELD RD

MITTEN MOUNTAIN RD

VOSE POND ROAD

GOODALL HEATH ROAD

DUBLIN ST

DUBLIN ST

DUBLIN ST

AIRLINE RD

DODGE RD

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