County profile · official public datasets

Bristol County, MA

384 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 30.2% rated Good, 63.3% Fair, 6.5% Poor.

384
Public bridges
30.2%
Good condition
6.5%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

Top 38%
lowest Poor share in state
6.5%
Poor-condition share
384
public highway bridges
1962
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.

Bristol County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Bristol County ranks #5 of 13 Massachusetts counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 6.5%). Bristol County, Massachusetts contains 384 public highway bridges. Roughly 30.2% are rated “Good,” 63.3% “Fair,” and 6.5% “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

384

Public highway bridges in Bristol County

Good condition

30.2%

116 of 384 rated 7-9

Fair condition

63.3%

243 of 384 rated 5-6

Poor condition

6.5%

25 of 384 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#5 of 13

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

Condition distribution

Share of 384 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
30.2% (116)
Fair
63.3% (243)
Poor
6.5% (25)

Bristol County's Poor-condition bridges carry 545,055 vehicle crossings a day

That is 7.5% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 6.5% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 21,802 crossings a day against 16,119 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 384 of 384 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

70.3% of Bristol County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

270 of the 384 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 30.2% 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 12.2% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

I 195 over ST 18 ASHLEY BLVD, built 1965, carries 66,254 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 25-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 545,055 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Bristol County's bridges were built

384 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 117 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 30.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1962) matches the Massachusetts average (1961).

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

How Bristol County compares with Massachusetts's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Massachusetts counties nearest Bristol County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 6.5% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1962 against a peer-group mean of 1960 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 12 Massachusetts counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Bristol County and the 5 Massachusetts counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Berkshire County 450 7.8%
Hampden County 428 7.5%
Essex County 395 17.2%
Bristol County (this page) 384 6.5%
Norfolk County 343 5%
Franklin County 314 11.1%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside MA (384 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside MA (1962 here).

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

All 384 Good 116 Fair 243 Poor 25

Fair-condition bridges (243)

I 295 NB

Fair

Over: HWY PAINE RD

.7 MI SE OF R.I.S.L., Bristol, MA

Built 1966 Load: 32.5 t ADT: 19,357

HWY MILL RD

Fair

Over: I 195

.4 MI E OF ST 240, Bristol, MA

Built 1972 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 429

HWY NEW BOSTN RD

Fair

Over: I 195

1.3 MI E OF ST 240, Bristol, MA

Built 1971 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,286

ST140

Fair

Over: I 495

2.2 MI. S.E. OF I-95, Bristol, MA

Built 1978 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 16,100

HWY COUNTY ST

Fair

Over: WATER PALMER RIVER

.1 MI W OF RT 118, Bristol, MA

Built 1955 Load: 32.8 t ADT: 1,681

HWY BARNEY AVE

Fair

Over: I 195

1.1 MI FROM SWANSEA TL, Bristol, MA

Built 1959 Load: 32.8 t ADT: 1,172

I 195 RAMP A

Fair

Over: I 195

195 WB RAMP TO 88SB, Bristol, MA

Built 1964 Load: 32.9 t ADT: 2,835

HWY MAIN ST

Fair

Over: I 195

1 MILE W OF ST 240, Bristol, MA

Built 1972 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 12,931

HWY ADAMS ST

Fair

Over: I 195

1.0 MI W OF ST 240, Bristol, MA

Built 1974 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 11,900

ST 79

Fair

Over: RR MACRR

MP QNF 9.34, Bristol, MA

Built 1974 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 20,428

I 95 NB

Fair

Over: HWY TIFFANY ST

.5 MI SW OF 123 & 95, Bristol, MA

Built 1959 Load: 33.2 t ADT: 28,571

HWY STAFFORD RD

Fair

Over: ST 24

.7 MI N OF R I LINE, Bristol, MA

Built 1966 Load: 33.3 t ADT: 4,857

HWY CUSHMAN RD

Fair

Over: WATER ABBOTT RUN RIVER

.6 MI E RHODE ISLAND, Bristol, MA

Built 1886 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 3,725

ST140 NB

Fair

Over: ST 79 MYRICKS ST

3.2 MI SO OF RT 24, Bristol, MA

Built 1959 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 12,252

US 6 (DRAWBRIDGE)

Fair

Over: WATER ACUSHNET RIVER

.4 MI W OF NBED, Bristol, MA

Built 1900 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 32,200

ST140

Fair

Over: HWY SHAWMUT AVE

.8 MI NE OF I 195, Bristol, MA

Built 1970 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 53,603

ST140 SB

Fair

Over: HWY BRALEY RD

.9 MI SE OF FREETOWN T.L., Bristol, MA

Built 1964 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 25,000

I 195

Fair

Over: HWY BELLEVILLE AVE

.4 MI W OF FAIHVN T L, Bristol, MA

Built 1965 Load: 33.7 t ADT: 51,471

I 295 SB

Fair

Over: HWY CLIFTON ST

.3 MI W OF I 95, Bristol, MA

Built 1967 Load: 33.8 t ADT: 24,598

I 495 NB

Fair

Over: WATER CANOE RIVER

.2 MI NW OF 123, Bristol, MA

Built 1978 Load: 33.8 t ADT: 40,367

I 495 SB

Fair

Over: WATER CANOE RIVER

.42 MI NW OF 123, Bristol, MA

Built 1978 Load: 33.8 t ADT: 40,098

HWY GROVE ST

Fair

Over: I 95 NB

.1 E OF FOXBORO T.L., Bristol, MA

Built 1962 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 1,714

HWY GROVE ST

Fair

Over: I 95 SB

.1 M E OF FOXBORO TL, Bristol, MA

Built 1962 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 1,714

I 295 SB

Fair

Over: US 1 S WASHINGTON ST

2 MI. W. OF I-95, Bristol, MA

Built 1966 Load: 34.1 t ADT: 29,000

I 95 NB

Fair

Over: US 1 WASHINGTON ST

.4 MI NO OF R.I. BORDER, Bristol, MA

Built 1959 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 16,142

I 295 NB

Fair

Over: HWY CLIFTON ST

.3 MI W OF I 95, Bristol, MA

Built 1967 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 18,898

HWY HIXVILLE RD

Fair

Over: I 195

.3 MI.W OF FAUNC CORNR RD, Bristol, MA

Built 1966 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 4,138

I 295 NB

Fair

Over: US 1 S WASHINGTON ST

2 MILES WEST OF I 95, Bristol, MA

Built 1966 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 28,000

HWY GRDN OWEN RW

Fair

Over: WATER TAUNTON RIVER

.1 MI. S. OF RT. 44, Bristol, MA

Built 1975 Load: 34.2 t ADT: 13,642

HWY NASH RD

Fair

Over: ST140

.3 MI EAST OF SHAWMUT AVE, Bristol, MA

Built 1970 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 1,729

I 295 NB

Fair

Over: HWY OLD POST RD

.3 MI E OF US1, Bristol, MA

Built 1967 Load: 34.3 t ADT: 31,810

I 195 & RAMP B

Fair

Over: OTHER BIKEWAY(BCRR)

.2 MI W OF ST 24, Bristol, MA

Built 1963 Load: 34.4 t ADT: 114,052

I 295 NB

Fair

Over: I 95

I-295 AT I-95, Bristol, MA

Built 1967 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 14,695

I 295 SB

Fair

Over: I 95

4.5 MI EAST OF RI LINE, Bristol, MA

Built 1967 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 6,816

HWY MAIN ST

Fair

Over: WATER ACUSHNET RIVER

ON MAIN ST AT NEW BEDFORD, Bristol, MA

Built 1850 Load: 34.6 t ADT: 16,100

I 95 SB

Fair

Over: ST 1 A/NEWPORT AVE

JCT ST 1 A & I-95, Bristol, MA

Built 1961 Load: 34.6 t ADT: 41,362

ST 79 SW RAMP

Fair

Over: RR MACRR

MP QNF 9.42, Bristol, MA

Built 1974 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 7,286

ST140 COUNTY ST

Fair

Over: WATER TAUNTON RIVER

.6 MI SE OF DEAN ST US 44, Bristol, MA

Built 1972 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 21,078

I 195 EB

Fair

Over: RR MACRR

.7 MI W OF DARTMOUTH T.L., Bristol, MA

Built 1965 Load: 34.7 t ADT: 37,666

HWY HIGHLAND AVE

Fair

Over: I 195

AT WESTPORT TL, Bristol, MA

Built 1965 Load: 34.8 t ADT: 2,069

I 195 RAMP A

Fair

Over: RR SPURR (ABANDONED)

2 MI. E OF BRAGA BRIDGE, Bristol, MA

Built 1963 Load: 34.9 t ADT: 16,074

ST138 SOMERSET AV

Fair

Over: WATER THREE MILE RIVER

1.5 MI. N OF CENTER ST., Bristol, MA

Built 1932 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 15,905

ST140

Fair

Over: RR BCRR

.9 MI NE OF I 195, Bristol, MA

Built 1970 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 51,136

HWY KINGS HWY

Fair

Over: ST140

4.32 KM. NORTH U.S. 6, Bristol, MA

Built 1969 Load: 35.1 t ADT: 15,000

HWY ORNE ST/LNDY

Fair

Over: WATER TEN MILE RIVER

ADJACENT TO ROUTE 1, Bristol, MA

Built 1979 Load: 35.2 t ADT: 7,700

I 295 SB

Fair

Over: HWY OLD POST RD

.3 MI. E. OF US1, Bristol, MA

Built 1967 Load: 35.3 t ADT: 26,233

I 295 NB

Fair

Over: HWY MT HOPE ST

1.2 MI W OF I 95, Bristol, MA

Built 1967 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 15,429

I 295 SB

Fair

Over: HWY MT HOPE ST

1.2 MI W OF I 95, Bristol, MA

Built 1967 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 26,000

HWY LEES RIV AVE

Fair

Over: I 195

.1 MI N OF ST 103, Bristol, MA

Built 1960 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 7,400

ST 24

Fair

Over: RR MBTA/CSX

CSX MP QNB 14.29 N OF 140, Bristol, MA

Built 1950 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 68,317

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.