County profile · official public datasets

Washoe County, NV

334 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 51.2% rated Good, 46.7% Fair, 2.1% Poor.

334
Public bridges: 51.2%
Good condition: 2.1%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

12th
of 16 on Poor share: 2.1%
Poor-condition share: 334
public highway bridges: 1986
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.

Washoe County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Washoe County ranks #12 of 16 Nevada counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 2.1%). Washoe County, Nevada contains 334 public highway bridges. Roughly 51.2% are rated “Good,” 46.7% “Fair,” and 2.1% “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

334

Public highway bridges in Washoe County

Good condition

51.2%

171 of 334 rated 7-9

Fair condition

46.7%

156 of 334 rated 5-6

Poor condition

2.1%

7 of 334 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#12 of 16

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

Condition distribution

Share of 334 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good

51.2% (171)

Fair

46.7% (156)

Poor

2.1% (7)

Washoe County's Poor-condition bridges carry 112,505 vehicle crossings a day

That is 1.3% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 2.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 16,072 crossings a day against 27,214 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 334 of 334 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

34.1% of Washoe County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

114 of the 334 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 51.2% 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 61.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

I 80 over CITY STREETS(NUGGET), built 1966, carries 69,000 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 7-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 112,505 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

1900s

1
1920s

4
1930s

8
1940s

1
1950s

8
1960s

73
1970s

32
1980s

45
1990s

66
2000s

48
2010s

42
2020s

6

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 73 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 21.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1986) matches the Nevada average (1988).

How Washoe County compares with Nevada's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Nevada counties nearest Washoe County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 2.1% Poor share is the 3rd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1986 against a peer-group mean of 1974 is 12 years newer.

Showing the 5 closest of 15 Nevada counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Washoe County and the 5 Nevada counties closest to it in inventory size
County	Bridges	Good	Fair	Poor	Avg. built
Washoe County (this page)	334	51.2%	46.7%	2.1%	1986
Elko County	217	44.7%	52.5%	2.8%	1974
Churchill County	70	51.4%	48.6%	0%	1981
Humboldt County	54	33.3%	63%	3.7%	1970
Lyon County	53	56.6%	35.8%	7.5%	1975
Pershing County	52	42.3%	57.7%	0%	1972

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside NV (334 bridges here).

Boone County, MO · 334 bridges
Dodge County, NE · 334 bridges
Shelby County, IL · 335 bridges
Washington County, KS · 335 bridges

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside NV (1986 here).

El Paso County, TX · avg 1986 · 783 bridges
Caddo County, LA · avg 1986 · 682 bridges
Weld County, CO · avg 1986 · 614 bridges
Polk County, IA · avg 1986 · 545 bridges

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

All 334 Good 171 Fair 156 Poor 7

All bridges (334)

Sort:

Washoe County Bridge Snapshot

Condition distribution

Washoe County's Poor-condition bridges carry 112,505 vehicle crossings a day

34.1% of Washoe County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

One structure carries 61.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

How Washoe County compares with Nevada's closest counties by inventory size

Nationwide counties with similar inventory size or average build year

Similar inventory size

Similar average build year

All bridges (334)

I 80W

VISTA BL

WEDGE PW

RMP I 80W TO 4TH

BLACKWILLOW WY

I 80

LONGLEY LN

NEIL RD

VINE ST

I 80

WELLS AV

JOY LAKE RD

SIERRA CENTER PW

GATEWAY DR

I 80

SPARK BL

I 80W

I 80W

LAKE SHORE BL

I 580N/US 395N

I 580S/US 395S

SPANISH SPRINGS RD

SR 674/GREG ST

I 80

PRATER WAY

SR 659/MCCARRAN

FRWA30 VILLAGE PW

RIO WRANGLER PWY

I 80

I 80

SUMMIT RIDGE

SR425 THIRD ST

WHITE LAKE PKWY

FR WA16

CLEAN WATER WAY

RMP US395S-I80E&W

I 80E

KIRMAN AV

CROSS ROAD-THISBE

SR648 GLENDALE AV

SR 659/MCCARRAN

DOUBLE R BL

OLD VIRGINIA RD

USA PARKWAY

US 395N

US 395S

BRIDGE STREET

SR659 E McCARRAN

SR 659/E.MCCARRAN

SPARKS BL

Related