County profile · official public datasets

Washington County, NE

149 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 76.5% rated Good, 20.8% Fair, 2.7% Poor.

149
Public bridges
76.5%
Good condition
2.7%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Washington 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 23%
lowest Poor share in state
2.7%
Poor-condition share
149
public highway bridges
1989
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 #20 of 88 Nebraska counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 2.7%). Washington County, Nebraska contains 149 public highway bridges. Roughly 76.5% are rated “Good,” 20.8% “Fair,” and 2.7% “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

149

Public highway bridges in Washington County

Good condition

76.5%

114 of 149 rated 7-9

Fair condition

20.8%

31 of 149 rated 5-6

Poor condition

2.7%

4 of 149 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#20 of 88

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

Condition distribution

Share of 149 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
76.5% (114)
Fair
20.8% (31)
Poor
2.7% (4)

Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 1,290 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 2.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 323 crossings a day against 772 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 149 of 149 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

24.8% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

37 of the 149 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 76.5% 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 94.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

N91 over STREAM, built 1964, carries 1,220 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 4-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 1,290 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

149 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 29 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 19.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1989, 12 years newer than the Nebraska average of 1977.

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

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

The 5 Nebraska counties nearest Washington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 2.7% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1989 against a peer-group mean of 1976 is 13 years newer.

Showing the 5 closest of 87 Nebraska counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Washington County and the 5 Nebraska counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Howard County 161 6.2%
Cheyenne County 159 1.3%
Thurston County 152 20.4%
Washington County (this page) 149 2.7%
Nance County 148 5.4%
Dixon County 146 9.6%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NE (149 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside NE (1989 here).

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

All 149 Good 114 Fair 31 Poor 4

All bridges (149)

N91

Good

Over: STREAM

5W BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 1954 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 1,250

16TH ST/FAU 6457

Good

Over: STREAM

BLAIR 16TH @ BUTLER, Washington, NE

Built 2005 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 1,990

10TH ST/FAS 6459

Good

Over: STREAM

.25N JOANN DR IN BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 2003 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 1,200

17TH STREET

Good

Over: STREAM

BLAIR 17TH @ BUTLER, Washington, NE

Built 2005 Load: 22.0 t ADT: 300

FAS 3825

Good

Over: BELL CREEK

JCT US30/N31 6.7W .7N, Washington, NE

Built 1964 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 135

ROAD 28

Good

Over: PAPILLION CREEK NW BR

1.5N 3.5W OF KENNARD, Washington, NE

Built 2021 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 60

RD 5

Good

Over: BROWN CREEK

1E 1.5N FONTANELLE, Washington, NE

Built 2019 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 20

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: BIG PAPILLION CREEK

3W BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 1935 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 10

S28J WASHINGTON

Good

Over: BIG PAPILLION CREEK TRIB

SCL WASHINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 1980 Load: 25.0 t ADT: 420

FAS 3825

Good

Over: BELL CREEK

JCT US30/N31 6.7W 2.9N, Washington, NE

Built 1964 Load: 26.0 t ADT: 135

ROAD 20

Good

Over: BROWN CREEK

1N 1.2E FONTANELLE, Washington, NE

Built 2021 Load: 26.0 t ADT: 50

FAS 3825

Good

Over: LITTLE BELL CREEK

JCT US30/N31 6.7W 4.4N, Washington, NE

Built 1964 Load: 28.0 t ADT: 135

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: LONG CREEK

2.5W .7N FORT CALHOUN, Washington, NE

Built 1998 Load: 28.0 t ADT: 15

US75

Good

Over: NEW YORK CREEK

.5S HERMAN, Washington, NE

Built 2021 Load: 28.0 t ADT: 4,675

FAS 3825

Good

Over: BELL CREEK

JCT US30/N31 6.7W 1.5N, Washington, NE

Built 1980 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 135

COUNTY ROAD 26

Good

Over: MILL CREEK

2.3N 1.5W FORT CALHOUN, Washington, NE

Built 2016 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 145

FAS 3825

Good

Over: BROWN CREEK

JCT US30/N31 6.7W 1.9N, Washington, NE

Built 1980 Load: 30.0 t ADT: 135

COLL 7953

Good

Over: STREAM

3E .5N HERMAN, Washington, NE

Built 1982 Load: 30.0 t ADT: 40

US30

Good

Over: SW BR. BIG PAPILLION CR.

6SW BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 1966 Load: 30.0 t ADT: 4,880

RD 18

Good

Over: BROWN CREEK

2N .7E FONTANELLE, Washington, NE

Built 2019 Load: 31.0 t ADT: 20

FAS 3850

Good

Over: BIG PAPILLION CREEK

JCT US30/N91 .7S 3.3W, Washington, NE

Built 1984 Load: 31.0 t ADT: 255

N91

Good

Over: BELL CREEK

6E NICKERSON, Washington, NE

Built 1964 Load: 32.0 t ADT: 1,220

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: WALNUT CREEK

2E 4S ARLINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 1979 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 40

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: STREAM

3.5E 3.4N ARLINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 2018 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 50

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

4.5E 2N ARLINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 1935 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 35

ROAD 20

Good

Over: BIG PAPILLION CR TRIB

4.6W BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 2018 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 40

ROAD 24

Good

Over: PAPILLION CR NW BR

3E 4.5N ARLINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 2018 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 40

COUNTY ROAD P24

Good

Over: TRIB OF BIG PAPILLION CR

3.5W BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 2015 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 60

COUNTY ROAD 24

Good

Over: TRIB BIG PAPILLION CREEK

1.7W BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 2014 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 80

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: STREAM

3.5N .9E ARLINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 2017 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 50

COLL 7949

Good

Over: DEER CREEK

1.7S 3E FORT CALHOUN, Washington, NE

Built 1979 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 80

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: STREAM

2.3S 3W KENNARD, Washington, NE

Built 2017 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 35

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: PETERSON DITCH

2.3S 1.8E HERMAN, Washington, NE

Built 1970 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 20

FAS 3840

Good

Over: DEER CREEK

JCT US30/N133 6.2S 9.4E, Washington, NE

Built 1984 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 410

US30

Good

Over: STREAM

IN BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 1965 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 17,875

US75

Good

Over: STREAM

3 S HERMAN, Washington, NE

Built 1994 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 4,675

N91

Good

Over: STREAM

.1W BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 1996 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 2,715

FAIRVIEW DRIVE

Good

Over: CAMERON DITCH

W OF FAIRVIEW-MARINA INT, Washington, NE

Built 2014 Load: 33.0 t ADT: 150

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: BIG PAPILLION CREEK TRIB

3W BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 2001 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 65

US30

Good

Over: STREAM

7SW BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 1966 Load: 34.0 t ADT: 4,880

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: STREAM

2.3W 1S KENNARD, Washington, NE

Built 2017 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 30

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

2.3W .5N KENNARD, Washington, NE

Built 2003 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 55

ROAD 28

Good

Over: BELL CREEK

2.5N ARLINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 2020 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 60

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: BUTTER FLAT CREEK

3.5E 1N WASHINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 2005 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 70

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

1W N31 DOUGLAS CL, Washington, NE

Built 1996 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 50

US30

Good

Over: BIG PAPILLION CREEK

6SW BLAIR, Washington, NE

Built 1966 Load: 35.0 t ADT: 6,945

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: BELL CREEK

NE CORNER OF ARLINGTON, Washington, NE

Built 2005 Load: 36.0 t ADT: 75

TOWNSHIP ROAD

Good

Over: LITTLE BELL CREEK

1N 4.9E FONTANELLE, Washington, NE

Built 2013 Load: 37.0 t ADT: 40

COUNTY RD 21

Good

Over: SW BRANCH PAPILLION CR

2.3W 2S KENNARD, Washington, NE

Built 1999 Load: 37.0 t ADT: 50

COUNTY HIGHWAY

Good

Over: STREAM

1.2W .1N OF KENNARD, Washington, NE

Built 1986 Load: 37.0 t ADT: 85

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.