County profile · official public datasets

Washington County, MD

300 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 28.3% rated Good, 67% Fair, 4.7% Poor.

300
Public bridges
28.3%
Good condition
4.7%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

Top 50%
lowest Poor share in state
4.7%
Poor-condition share
300
public highway bridges
1956
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 24 Maryland counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4.7%). Washington County, Maryland contains 300 public highway bridges. Roughly 28.3% are rated “Good,” 67% “Fair,” and 4.7% “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

300

Public highway bridges in Washington County

Good condition

28.3%

85 of 300 rated 7-9

Fair condition

67%

201 of 300 rated 5-6

Poor condition

4.7%

14 of 300 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#12 of 24

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

Condition distribution

Share of 300 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
28.3% (85)
Fair
67% (201)
Poor
4.7% (14)

Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 324,080 vehicle crossings a day

That is 6.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 23,149 crossings a day against 15,321 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 300 of 300 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

76.3% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

229 of the 300 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 28.3% 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 19.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

IS 70 EB over US 11, built 1965, carries 62,680 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 324,080 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

300 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 118 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 39.3% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1956, 16 years older than the Maryland average of 1972.

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

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

The 5 Maryland counties nearest Washington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4.7% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1956 against a peer-group mean of 1973 is 17 years older.

Showing the 5 closest of 23 Maryland counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Washington County and the 5 Maryland counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Anne Arundel County 389 1.5%
Baltimore city County 374 8.6%
Howard County 309 5.8%
Washington County (this page) 300 4.7%
Harford County 275 4.7%
Allegany County 245 6.1%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside MD (300 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside MD (1956 here).

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

All 300 Good 85 Fair 201 Poor 14

Good-condition bridges (85)

NICODEMUS MILL RD

Good

Over: DOG CREEK

0.08 MI N OF DOGSTREET RD, Washington, MD

Built 1996 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 294

IS 68 WB

Good

Over: SIDELING HILL CREEK

ON ALLEGANY CO LINE, Washington, MD

Built 1982 Load: 54.9 t ADT: 19,950

IS 70 EB

Good

Over: PENNSYLVANIA AVE

0.24 MILE EAST OF US 522, Washington, MD

Built 1965 Load: 56.2 t ADT: 37,440

IS 81 NB

Good

Over: MAUGANS AVE

1.89 MILES NORTH OF MD 58, Washington, MD

Built 1958 Load: 56.7 t ADT: 52,330

LEITERSBURG-SMITHS

Good

Over: LITTLE ANTIETAM CREEK

1.02 MI SE OF MD RTE 60, Washington, MD

Built 1981 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 2,760

OLD FORGE ROAD

Good

Over: MARSH RUN

0.76 MI E OF MD RTE 60, Washington, MD

Built 1998 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 1,214

LITTLE TONOLOWAY A

Good

Over: C&O CANAL

0.2 miles from Little Ton, Washington, MD

Built 1969 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 72

MD 56

Good

Over: TOMS RUN

1.9 MILES WEST OF MD 68, Washington, MD

Built 2023 Load: 59.3 t ADT: 500

MD 68

Good

Over: ST JAMES RUN

1.338 MI W OF MD 65, Washington, MD

Built 2014 Load: 61.2 t ADT: 5,200

IS 81 NB

Good

Over: MD 63/68

0.88 MI N OF WEST VA LINE, Washington, MD

Built 1965 Load: 61.6 t ADT: 61,300

IS 81 SB

Good

Over: MD 63/68

0.88 MI N OF WEST VA LINE, Washington, MD

Built 1965 Load: 61.6 t ADT: 61,300

IS 70 WB

Good

Over: PENNSYLVANIA AVE

0.24 MILE EAST OF US 522, Washington, MD

Built 1965 Load: 62.1 t ADT: 37,440

BIKLE ROAD

Good

Over: LITTLE ANTIETAM CREEK

0.6 MI NE OF MD RTE 64, Washington, MD

Built 1998 Load: 62.1 t ADT: 1,091

IS 68 WB

Good

Over: RICE ROAD

1.71 MILES EAST OF MD 903, Washington, MD

Built 1985 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 19,950

IS 70 EB

Good

Over: MD 63

1.61 MILES WEST OF US 81, Washington, MD

Built 2014 Load: 69.3 t ADT: 47,400

IS 70 WB

Good

Over: MD 63

1.61 MILES WEST OF US 81, Washington, MD

Built 2014 Load: 69.3 t ADT: 47,400

INDIAN SPRINGS RD

Good

Over: LANES RUN

1.3 MI N OF US RTE 40, Washington, MD

Built 1940 Load: 74.4 t ADT: 295

MD 56

Good

Over: IS 70

1.46 MILES S OF US 40, Washington, MD

Built 1964 Load: 78.4 t ADT: 1,325

EASTERN BOULEVARD

Good

Over: HAMILTON RUN

0.3 MI W. OF US RTE 40, Washington, MD

Built 1995 Load: 79.4 t ADT: 7,080

MONROE ROAD

Good

Over: TRIBUTARY OF LITTLE ANTI

0.07 MI N OF MD RTE 34, Washington, MD

Built 1996 Load: 82.1 t ADT: 203

HALFWAY BLVD

Good

Over: IS 81

1.0 MILE NORTH OF IS 70, Washington, MD

Built 2001 Load: 83.0 t ADT: 13,020

GARIS SHOP ROAD

Good

Over: ANTIETAM CREEK

0.64 M SW OF ALT US RT 40, Washington, MD

Built 1839 Load: 84.4 t ADT: 1,698

EAST OAK RIDGE DRI

Good

Over: ANTIETAM CREEK

0.09 MI W OF ALT US RT 40, Washington, MD

Built 1833 Load: 85.1 t ADT: 12,292

CLOPPER ROAD

Good

Over: ANTIETAM CREEK

0.95 MI S OF MD RTE 60, Washington, MD

Built 2005 Load: 86.2 t ADT: 229

IS 70 EB

Good

Over: BLACK ROCK RD

0.78 MILE EAST OF MD 66, Washington, MD

Built 2009 Load: 89.1 t ADT: 58,600

IS 70 WB

Good

Over: BLACK ROCK RD

0.78 MILE EAST OF MD 66, Washington, MD

Built 2009 Load: 89.1 t ADT: 58,600

IS 70 EB

Good

Over: MEADOW BROOK CREEK

2.95 MILES WEST OF MD 63, Washington, MD

Built 1967 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 40,770

IS 70

Good

Over: BLACKROCK CREEK

0.66 MILE EAST OF MD 66, Washington, MD

Built 1968 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 58,600

TOLLGATE RIDGE RD

Good

Over: TONOLOWAY CREEK

0.6 MI E OF MD 144, Washington, MD

Built 1916 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 828

BROADFORDING ROAD

Good

Over: CONOCOCHEAGUE CREEK

0.7 MI W OF MD RTE 63, Washington, MD

Built 1829 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 265

MT AETNA ROAD

Good

Over: BEAVER CREEK

0.1 MI W OF MD RTE 66, Washington, MD

Built 1993 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 1,654

POFFENBERGER ROAD

Good

Over: ANTIETAM CREEK

0.57 MI W OF ALT US RT 40, Washington, MD

Built 1841 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 1,698

POFFENBERGER ROAD

Good

Over: ANTIETAM CREEK

0.54 MI W OF ALT US RT 40, Washington, MD

Built 1840 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 1,698

COFFMAN FARMS RD

Good

Over: LITTLE ANTIETAM CREEK

0.1 MI E OF MD RTE 34, Washington, MD

Built 1832 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 362

GOVERNOR LANE BOUL

Good

Over: TRIBUTARY OF SEMPLE RUN

1 MI N OF MD RTE 68, Washington, MD

Built 1969 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 5,806

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

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →
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.