County profile · official public datasets

Hampden County, MA

428 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 17.1% rated Good, 75.5% Fair, 7.5% Poor.

428
Public bridges
17.1%
Good condition
7.5%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Hampden 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 46%
lowest Poor share in state
7.5%
Poor-condition share
428
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.

Hampden County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Hampden County ranks #6 of 13 Massachusetts counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 7.5%). Hampden County, Massachusetts contains 428 public highway bridges. Roughly 17.1% are rated “Good,” 75.5% “Fair,” and 7.5% “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

428

Public highway bridges in Hampden County

Good condition

17.1%

73 of 428 rated 7-9

Fair condition

75.5%

323 of 428 rated 5-6

Poor condition

7.5%

32 of 428 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#6 of 13

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

Condition distribution

Share of 428 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
17.1% (73)
Fair
75.5% (323)
Poor
7.5% (32)

Hampden County's Poor-condition bridges carry 470,163 vehicle crossings a day

That is 5.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 7.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 15,672 crossings a day against 11,783 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 425 of 428 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

82.2% of Hampden County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

352 of the 428 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 17.1% 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 16.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

I 291 CONN B & C over HWY DWIGHT ST, built 1967, carries 78,178 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 32-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 470,163 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Hampden County's bridges were built

428 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1950s, when 164 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 38.3% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 65 to 74 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1956, 5 years older than the Massachusetts average of 1961.

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

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

The 5 Massachusetts counties nearest Hampden County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 7.5% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1956 against a peer-group mean of 1962 is 6 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Hampden County and the 5 Massachusetts counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Suffolk County 489 9.6%
Berkshire County 450 7.8%
Hampden County (this page) 428 7.5%
Essex County 395 17.2%
Bristol County 384 6.5%
Norfolk County 343 5%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside MA (428 bridges here).

Similar average build year

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

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

All 428 Good 73 Fair 323 Poor 32

Poor-condition bridges (32)

HWY HOSPITAL RD

Poor

Over: WATER QUABOAG STREAM

JUST E OF STATE AVE, Hampden, MA

Built 1940 Load: 0.0 t

US 20 PARK ST

Poor

Over: WATER QUABOAG RIVER

.15M E OF JCT. ST 67, Hampden, MA

Built 1939 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 9,827

HWY CHURCH ST

Poor

Over: WATER WARE RIVER

300 N OF RIVER ST INT, Hampden, MA

Built 1937 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 6,364

HWY ST JAMES AVE

Poor

Over: RR CSX

ADJACENT TO I-291, Hampden, MA

Built 1956 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 34,300

HWY PROSPECT AVE

Poor

Over: RR PVRR

.1 M E WESTFIELD T.L., Hampden, MA

Built 1926 Load: 1.9 t

ST 21 LUDLOW AVE

Poor

Over: WATER CHICOPEE RIVER

AT SPRINGFIELD CITY LINE, Hampden, MA

Built 1930 Load: 4.8 t ADT: 23,427

HWY STAFFORD HLW

Poor

Over: RR NECRR

.2 MI E OF ST 32, Hampden, MA

Built 1850 Load: 13.7 t ADT: 776

I 391

Poor

Over: ST116 CHICOPEE ST

MM 4.3 ON I-391, Hampden, MA

Built 1979 Load: 13.9 t ADT: 35,950

HWY MAIN ST

Poor

Over: WATER W BR WESTFIELD RIV

200 E. OF INT. W/ RTE 20, Hampden, MA

Built 1970 Load: 14.1 t ADT: 260

ST141 APPLETON ST

Poor

Over: WATER FIRST LEVEL CANAL

200 N OF BIGELOW ST, Hampden, MA

Built 1919 Load: 19.8 t ADT: 9,698

HWY BLANDFORD RD

Poor

Over: WATER WALKER BROOK

AT INT. W/ ROUTE 20, Hampden, MA

Built 1939 Load: 21.7 t ADT: 800

HWY STATE AVE

Poor

Over: WATER QUABOAG RIVER

AT PALMER LINE, Hampden, MA

Built 1929 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 3,103

HWY FLYNT ST

Poor

Over: I 90

MM 64.5 ON I-90, Hampden, MA

Built 1957 Load: 25.3 t ADT: 1,422

ST181 PALMER ST

Poor

Over: WATER WARE RIVER

0.4 MI N OF MAIN ST, Hampden, MA

Built 1938 Load: 25.4 t ADT: 11,897

HWY ST JAMES AVE

Poor

Over: RR CONRAIL (ABANDNED)

.1 M S JCT ALBANY ST., Hampden, MA

Built 1903 Load: 26.0 t ADT: 21,207

HWY OLD WALES RD

Poor

Over: WATER CONANT BROOK

1.0 M S OF MUNN RD, Hampden, MA

Built 1938 Load: 26.5 t ADT: 50

HWY ARMORY ST

Poor

Over: RR CSX

AT JCT ALBANY ST., Hampden, MA

Built 1934 Load: 27.4 t ADT: 35,000

ST141 APPLETON ST

Poor

Over: WATER SECOND LEVEL CANAL

AT INT OF RACE/APPLETON, Hampden, MA

Built 1921 Load: 27.5 t ADT: 5,431

HWY MAIN ST

Poor

Over: WATER WARE RIVER

350 W OF CHURCH ST, Hampden, MA

Built 1937 Load: 29.2 t ADT: 4,300

ST116 CHICOPEE ST

Poor

Over: RR GWRR

.3 M N JCT I391, Hampden, MA

Built 1971 Load: 29.3 t ADT: 32,500

HWY WEST ST

Poor

Over: WATER CHICOPEE RIVER

.2 MI S OF RTE 90, Hampden, MA

Built 1939 Load: 30.7 t ADT: 13,750

ST 32 PALMER RD

Poor

Over: COMB CHCPEE BRK & NECRR

300 S OF INT BETHANY RD, Hampden, MA

Built 1937 Load: 33.5 t ADT: 12,155

HWY ROOSEVELT AV

Poor

Over: I 291 /US20

MM 4.0 I-291, Hampden, MA

Built 1969 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 42,672

I 291 CONN B & C

Poor

Over: HWY DWIGHT ST

.1 M E JCT MAIN ST., Hampden, MA

Built 1967 Load: 35.2 t ADT: 78,178

HWY PROSPECT AVE

Poor

Over: HWY RAMPS F/G & H

150 SOUTH OLD TOLL PLAZA, Hampden, MA

Built 1968 Load: 35.6 t ADT: 5,560

US 5

Poor

Over: WATER WESTFIELD RIVER

US 5 AT WESTFIELD RIVER, Hampden, MA

Built 1953 Load: 36.1 t ADT: 30,366

I 90 WB

Poor

Over: ST 67 BOSTON RD

MM 66.5 ON I-90 WB, Hampden, MA

Built 1957 Load: 36.4 t ADT: 24,514

I 90 EB

Poor

Over: ST 67 BOSTON RD

MM 66.5 ON I-90 EB, Hampden, MA

Built 1957 Load: 36.8 t ADT: 24,667

HWY BLANDF STAGE

Poor

Over: WATER STAGE BROOK

1.2 MI WEST OF RTE 20, Hampden, MA

Built 1956 Load: 36.9 t ADT: 517

HWY ROCKADUNDEE

Poor

Over: WATER SCANTIC RIVER

0.5MI N CONN BRDR NR MNSN, Hampden, MA

Built 1986 Load: 46.2 t ADT: 129

HWY HOLLAND RD

Poor

Over: WATER WALES BROOK

E OF RT19 NEAR STE FOREST, Hampden, MA

Built 1956 Load: 66.6 t ADT: 1,293

HWY PINEY LN

Poor

Over: WATER BROAD BROOK

410 E OF INT ALDEN ST, Hampden, MA

Built 1952 Load: 99.9 t ADT: 50

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.