Total bridges
563
Public highway bridges in Middlesex County
County profile · official public datasets
563 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 23.4% rated Good, 72.1% Fair, 4.4% Poor.
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Middlesex County pairs a better-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.
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.
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Middlesex County ranks #7 of 21 New Jersey counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4.4%). Middlesex County, New Jersey contains 563 public highway bridges. Roughly 23.4% are rated “Good,” 72.1% “Fair,” and 4.4% “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
563
Public highway bridges in Middlesex County
Good condition
23.4%
132 of 563 rated 7-9
Fair condition
72.1%
406 of 563 rated 5-6
Poor condition
4.4%
25 of 563 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#7 of 21
Among New Jersey counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Share of 563 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
That is 2.1% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 16,106 crossings a day against 29,014 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 563 of 563 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
330 of the 563 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 23.4% 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.
US 1 over FORRESTAL ROAD, built 1932, carries 67,565 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 402,662 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
563 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
Built before 1900
4 bridges
1900–1909
3 bridges
1910–1919
6 bridges
1920–1929
21 bridges
1930–1939
26 bridges
1940–1949
28 bridges
1950–1959
67 bridges
1960–1969
65 bridges
1970–1979
125 bridges
1980–1989
44 bridges
1990–1999
92 bridges
2000–2009
48 bridges
2010–2019
34 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 125 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 22.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1972, 6 years newer than the New Jersey average of 1966.
The 5 New Jersey counties nearest Middlesex County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4.4% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1972 against a peer-group mean of 1967 is 5 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 20 New Jersey counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergen County | 577 | 19.1% | 76.1% | 4.9% | 1964 |
| Middlesex County (this page) | 563 | 23.4% | 72.1% | 4.4% | 1972 |
| Morris County | 508 | 19.7% | 74.4% | 5.9% | 1964 |
| Essex County | 505 | 16.2% | 81% | 2.8% | 1963 |
| Monmouth County | 505 | 32.9% | 58.2% | 8.9% | 1971 |
| Mercer County | 414 | 40.3% | 50.5% | 9.2% | 1975 |
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 Middlesex County's. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
Two NBI-derived peer sets for Middlesex County, both outside New Jersey so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Nearest county inventories outside NJ (563 bridges here).
Nearest mean year-built outside NJ (1972 here).
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Over: WOODBRIDGE RIVER
2.4 MI E RTE 444 & NJTPK, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJ TURNPIKE
0.4 MI N SA 10S & 10N, Middlesex, NJ
Over: RARITAN STREET
3.62 MI NORTH OF RT 34, Middlesex, NJ
Over: US 9
1.57 MI N OF 9-GSP JCT, Middlesex, NJ
Over: METUCHEN AVENUE
0.52 Mi. N. of NJ TPK Jct, Middlesex, NJ
Over: CONRAIL
2.12 MI S OF NJTPK JCT, Middlesex, NJ
Over: BORDENTOWN AVENUE
0.26 MI S OF 35-9 JCT, Middlesex, NJ
Over: AMBROSE BROOK
0.5 MI. N. OF METLARS LA, Middlesex, NJ
Over: I-287
.15 MI NORTH OF US 1 JCT., Middlesex, NJ
Over: I-287
1.33 MI SOUTH OF NJ 27, Middlesex, NJ
Over: WESTON MILL POND
0.5 MI. SOUTH OF US 1, Middlesex, NJ
Over: AMTRAK NE CORRIDOR
1.6 MI. S OF US 1, Middlesex, NJ
Over: IRELAND BROOK
1.28 MILES E. OF RTE 130, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJ TPK NSO NSI SNI SNO*
1.6 MI NORTH OF INT 8A, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJ TPK INTER.11 RAMP TSO
0.25 MI W OF ROUTE 9, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJTPK U TURN
1.3 MI S INTER 10, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJTPK NSI-SNI-SNO RDWY
0.20 MI W OF ROUTE 9, Middlesex, NJ
Over: LAWRENCE BROOK
.1 MI N INTERCHANGE 9, Middlesex, NJ
Over: US9 NB & Main St
0.09 MI South of CR 670, Middlesex, NJ
Over: SPA SPRING CREEK
0.37 miles north of CR654, Middlesex, NJ
Over: DAVIDSON MILL POND
2.3 MI N OF RT 522 JCT, Middlesex, NJ
Over: AMBROSE BROOK
1.1 MI S OF NEW DURHM RD, Middlesex, NJ
Over: BOUND BROOK
0.5 MILE W OF CR531, Middlesex, NJ
Over: P.AMBOY-S.PLAINFIELD BR.
0.6MI NW OF US1&I287 JCT, Middlesex, NJ
Over: FORMER LEHIGH VALLEY RR
1.3 MI NORTH OF INT 9, Middlesex, NJ
Over: RAMP C TO SERVICE AREA
2.1 MI S OF RARITAN TOLL, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJ TPK NSO NSI SNI SNO *
1.6 MI NORTH OF INT 8A, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJTPK (I-95) SNO ROADWAY
.05 MI NORTH OF INT 9, Middlesex, NJ
Over: TURNPIKE MAINLINE
3.1 MI NORTH OF INT 8A, Middlesex, NJ
Over: MAIN ST EDISON
0.8 MI S OF INT. 10, Middlesex, NJ
Over: OLD BRDG MATAWAN RD(516)
2.28 MI NORTH OF RT 18, Middlesex, NJ
Over: BORDENTOWN AVE (CR 615)
2.15 MI NORTH OF RT 34, Middlesex, NJ
Over: WEDGEWOOD BROOK
1.4 MILES EAST OF RTE 1&9, Middlesex, NJ
Over: AMTRAK NE CORRIDOR
0.18 MILES WEST OF NJ 26, Middlesex, NJ
Over: CEDAR BROOK
0.7 MI E OFGEORGE DAVIDSO, Middlesex, NJ
Over: OAKEYS BROOK
0.25 MI WEST OF US 130, Middlesex, NJ
Over: ERNSTON ROAD
2.5 MI S OF RARITAN TOLL, Middlesex, NJ
Over: FORSGATE ROAD
AT INT 8A, Middlesex, NJ
Over: MILL BROOK
3.35 MI N OF EXIT 9, Middlesex, NJ
Over: GSP
2.23 MI NORTH OF NJ 27, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJTPK INTER 11 RAMP PST
0.05 MI E OF GSP, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJ TPK SNO RWY CRR OF NJ
INTERCHANGE 12, Middlesex, NJ
Over: RARITAN RIVER
Boat Lanch @ 2nd Av -Park, Middlesex, NJ
Over: BOUND BROOK
.8 MI N OF N.BRUNSWICK RD, Middlesex, NJ
Over: CO.RT.656(SMITH ST) WB
BETWEEN GSP&US 9 BRIDGES, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJ 440
0.81 MI EAST OF GSP, Middlesex, NJ
Over: IRELAND BROOK TRIBUTARY
0.2 MILE EAST OF NJTPK, Middlesex, NJ
Over: GARDEN STATE PARKWAY
0.20 MI SE OF NJ TPK, Middlesex, NJ
Over: NJTPK NSI-SNI-SNO RWYS
0.25 MI W OF ROUTE 9, Middlesex, NJ
Over: RARITAN RVR.RLRD (ABAND)
0.6 MI S OF RARITAN TOLL, Middlesex, NJ
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
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.