County profile · official public datasets

Worcester County, MD

82 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 30.5% rated Good, 67.1% Fair, 2.4% Poor.

82
Public bridges
30.5%
Good condition
2.4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

Top 21%
lowest Poor share in state
2.4%
Poor-condition share
82
public highway bridges
1978
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.

Worcester County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Worcester County ranks #5 of 24 Maryland counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 2.4%). Worcester County, Maryland contains 82 public highway bridges. Roughly 30.5% are rated “Good,” 67.1% “Fair,” and 2.4% “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

82

Public highway bridges in Worcester County

Good condition

30.5%

25 of 82 rated 7-9

Fair condition

67.1%

55 of 82 rated 5-6

Poor condition

2.4%

2 of 82 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#5 of 24

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

Condition distribution

Share of 82 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
30.5% (25)
Fair
67.1% (55)
Poor
2.4% (2)

Worcester County's Poor-condition bridges carry 200 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 2.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 100 crossings a day against 4,275 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 82 of 82 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

47.6% of Worcester County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

39 of the 82 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 30.5% 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 55% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

HOTEL ROAD over CAREY BRANCH, built 1989, carries 110 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 2-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 200 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Worcester County's bridges were built

82 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 23 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 28% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1978, 6 years newer than the Maryland average of 1972.

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

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

The 5 Maryland counties nearest Worcester County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 2.4% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1978 against a peer-group mean of 1972 is 6 years newer.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Worcester County and the 5 Maryland counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Wicomico County 99 6.1%
Charles County 94 8.5%
Queen Anne's County 88 1.1%
Worcester County (this page) 82 2.4%
Caroline County 70 8.6%
St. Mary's County 50 4%

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 Worcester 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 Worcester County, both outside Maryland so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside MD (82 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside MD (1978 here).

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

All 82 Good 25 Fair 55 Poor 2

All bridges (82)

MT OLIVE CHURCH RD

Fair

Over: NASSAWANGO CREEK

1.74 MI SE OF WO, Worcester, MD

Built 2001 Load: 59.9 t ADT: 155

MD 90

Fair

Over: BR OF CHURCH BRANCH

0.86 MILE EAST OF MD 346, Worcester, MD

Built 1976 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 8,118

MD 610

Fair

Over: BIRCH BRANCH

2.11 MILES WEST OF US 113, Worcester, MD

Built 1967 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 4,731

MD 376

Fair

Over: HUDSON BRANCH

0.41 MILE EAST OF US 113, Worcester, MD

Built 1986 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 4,150

MD 366

Fair

Over: PILCHARD CREEK

1.09 MILE WEST OF MD 703, Worcester, MD

Built 1968 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 1,630

KLEJ GRANGE ROAD

Good

Over: JONES DITCH

1.63 MI NE OF MD 366, Worcester, MD

Built 2001 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 90

OLD FURNACE ROAD

Good

Over: PUSEY BRANCH

0.13 MI E OF OLD BEECH RD, Worcester, MD

Built 1994 Load: 25.8 t ADT: 370

BUNTING ROAD

Good

Over: BEAVERDAM CREEK

0.12 MI EAST OF US 13, Worcester, MD

Built 2007 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 180

OLD STAGE ROAD

Good

Over: CAREY BRANCH

0.66 MI SE OF US 113, Worcester, MD

Built 1992 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 220

MASSEY CROSSING RD

Good

Over: POCOMOKE RIVER

WOR-WIC CO LINE, Worcester, MD

Built 2007 Load: 32.2 t ADT: 110

MD 90

Good

Over: CHURCH BRANCH

1.26 MILES EAST OF MD 346, Worcester, MD

Built 1976 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 8,118

QUEPONCO ROAD

Good

Over: OLD MILL BRANCH

3.79 MI N OF US RTE 113, Worcester, MD

Built 1994 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 130

US 113

Good

Over: MIDDLE BRANCH

0.784 MILE N OF MD 589, Worcester, MD

Built 2001 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 14,192

RED HOUSE ROAD

Good

Over: NASSAWANGO CREEK

1.23 MI SW OF MD 12, Worcester, MD

Built 1995 Load: 38.5 t ADT: 165

NASSAWANGO ROAD

Good

Over: NASSAWANGO CREEK

2.05 MI SW OF MD 12, Worcester, MD

Built 1998 Load: 41.3 t ADT: 900

US 113

Good

Over: CHURCH BRANCH

0.312 MILE N OF MD 589, Worcester, MD

Built 2001 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 14,192

US 113 NB

Good

Over: MD 589

0.286 MILE N OF MD 575A, Worcester, MD

Built 2001 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 14,192

US 113 SB

Good

Over: MD 589

0.286 MILE N OF MD 575A, Worcester, MD

Built 2001 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 14,192

US 13 SB

Good

Over: POCOMOKE RIVER

ON SOMERSET CO LINE, Worcester, MD

Built 1966 Load: 48.1 t ADT: 15,550

SANDYFIELD ROAD

Good

Over: NINEPIN BRANCH

0.76 MI S OF MD 374, Worcester, MD

Built 2002 Load: 49.0 t ADT: 90

NEW BRIDGE ROAD

Good

Over: LITTLE MILL CREEK

0.38 MI EAST OF MD 371, Worcester, MD

Built 2001 Load: 51.2 t ADT: 125

CHERRIX ROAD

Good

Over: BOXIRON CREEK

2.54 MI SE OF MD 12, Worcester, MD

Built 2003 Load: 51.2 t ADT: 225

MEADOWBRIDGE RD

Good

Over: DIVIDING CREEK

WORCESTER/SOMERSET LINE, Worcester, MD

Built 2018 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 442

US 13 NB

Good

Over: POCOMOKE RIVER

ON SOMERSET CO LINE, Worcester, MD

Built 1959 Load: 55.8 t ADT: 15,500

BAYSIDE ROAD

Good

Over: PAW PAW CREEK

0.19 MI SW OF MD 365, Worcester, MD

Built 2021 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 234

OLD FURNACE ROAD

Good

Over: NASSAWANGO CREEK

1.10 MI SW OF MD 12, Worcester, MD

Built 2004 Load: 63.0 t ADT: 450

FIVE MILE BRANCH R

Good

Over: COONFOOT BRANCH

0.76 MI N OF US RTE 113, Worcester, MD

Built 2017 Load: 63.2 t ADT: 128

NELSON ROAD

Good

Over: CAREYTOWN BRANCH

0.15 MI S OF SWAMP ROAD, Worcester, MD

Built 2015 Load: 94.0 t ADT: 59

MILLVILLE ROAD

Good

Over: FURNACE BRANCH

1.25 MI S OF MD 12, Worcester, MD

Built 2015 Load: 97.2 t ADT: 59

US 113 NB

Good

Over: MATAPONI CREEK

2.44 MILES S OF US 113BU, Worcester, MD

Built 1972 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 6,962

FLEMING MILL ROAD

Poor

Over: DIVIDING CREEK

WOR-SOMER CO LINE, Worcester, MD

Built 1974 Load: 16.8 t ADT: 90

HOTEL ROAD

Poor

Over: CAREY BRANCH

0.13 MI N OF HAMMOND ROAD, Worcester, MD

Built 1989 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 110

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.