County profile · official public datasets

Berks County, PA

667 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 21.4% rated Good, 63.6% Fair, 15% Poor.

667
Public bridges: 21.4%
Good condition: 15%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Berks County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.

49th
of 67 on Poor share: 15%
Poor-condition share: 667
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.

Berks County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Berks County ranks #49 of 67 Pennsylvania counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 15%). Berks County, Pennsylvania contains 667 public highway bridges. Roughly 21.4% are rated “Good,” 63.6% “Fair,” and 15% “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

667

Public highway bridges in Berks County

Good condition

21.4%

143 of 667 rated 7-9

Fair condition

63.6%

424 of 667 rated 5-6

Poor condition

15%

100 of 667 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#49 of 67

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

Condition distribution

Share of 667 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good

21.4% (143)

Fair

63.6% (424)

Poor

15% (100)

Berks County's Poor-condition bridges carry 312,870 vehicle crossings a day

That is 5.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 15% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 3,129 crossings a day against 6,540 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 666 of 667 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

68.1% of Berks County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

454 of the 667 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 21.4% 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.

One structure carries 26.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

SR 422 (LR793) over THUN RECREATIONAL TRAIL, built 1963, carries 82,168 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 100-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 312,870 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

pre-1900

10
1900s

17
1910s

22
1920s

65
1930s

59
1940s

26
1950s

84
1960s

120
1970s

86
1980s

40
1990s

35
2000s

35
2010s

59
2020s

9

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 120 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 18% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1962, 8 years older than the Pennsylvania average of 1970.

How Berks County compares with Pennsylvania's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Pennsylvania counties nearest Berks County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 15% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1962 against a peer-group mean of 1965 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 66 Pennsylvania counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Berks County and the 5 Pennsylvania counties closest to it in inventory size
County	Bridges	Good	Fair	Poor	Avg. built
Bucks County	699	24.3%	60.2%	15.5%	1958
Chester County	680	25%	61.3%	13.7%	1963
Berks County (this page)	667	21.4%	63.6%	15%	1962
Washington County	655	38.3%	49.6%	12.1%	1971
Westmoreland County	620	36.5%	47.7%	15.8%	1975
Philadelphia County	585	22.7%	64.1%	13.2%	1956

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside PA (667 bridges here).

Kern County, CA · 668 bridges
St. Louis County, MN · 663 bridges
Hinds County, MS · 663 bridges
Jefferson County, KY · 662 bridges

Similar average build year

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

Pecos County, TX · avg 1962 · 470 bridges
Bristol County, MA · avg 1962 · 384 bridges
Norfolk County, MA · avg 1962 · 343 bridges
Ottawa County, KS · avg 1962 · 295 bridges

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

All 667 Good 143 Fair 424 Poor 100

All bridges (667)

Sort:

US 222 (LR 06150)

Fair

Over: SR 3023(STATE HILL RD.)

OVER STATE HILL ROAD, Berks, PA

Built 1977 Load: 62.6 t ADT: 94,261

US 222 (LR 06150)

Fair

Over: CROSSING DRIVE

222 OVER CROSSING DRIVE, Berks, PA

Built 1977 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 106,484

SR 2016 (LR 06212)

Fair

Over: READING RR(REMOVED)

LAURELDALE BORO(ELIZ.AVE), Berks, PA

Built 1961 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 2,289

SR 2032(LR 06098)

Fair

Over: TRIB.TO SWAMP CREEK

HILL CHURCH ROAD, Berks, PA

Built 1924 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 496

T-775(GUN CLUB RD)

Fair

Over: MILL CREEK

DIETRICHS MILL BRIDGE, Berks, PA

Built 1986 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 326

TROLLEY ROAD

Fair

Over: IRISH CREEK

1 MILE SW OF CENTERPORT, Berks, PA

Built 2007 Load: 66.2 t ADT: 100

T-393 OLD FRITZTN

Fair

Over: US 222

OLD FRITZTOWN RD, Berks, PA

Built 2004 Load: 68.0 t ADT: 5,642

SR 73

Fair

Over: MAIDEN CREEK

ONTELAUNEE DAM, Berks, PA

Built 1935 Load: 78.0 t ADT: 8,878

SR 4012 (LR 06162)

Fair

Over: MILL CREEK

HOST CHURCH ROAD, Berks, PA

Built 1928 Load: 78.0 t ADT: 482

PA 61 (LR 160)

Fair

Over: PIGEON CREEK

SHOEMAKERSVILLE BOROUGH, Berks, PA

Built 1948 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 21,992

PA 61 (LR 160)

Fair

Over: CHRISTMANS RUN

NEAR HAMBURG BORO LINE, Berks, PA

Built 1955 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 21,710

SR 78 (LR 141)

Fair

Over: MILL CREEK

1 MI.E.OF BETHEL, Berks, PA

Built 1950 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 36,172

I-78 (LR 141)

Fair

Over: TRIB.MILL CREEK

3 MI.E.OF SHARTLESVILLE, Berks, PA

Built 1956 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 32,446

SR2089(LR 1011)

Fair

Over: CONESTOGA CREEK

MORGANTOWN, Berks, PA

Built 1962 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 7,565

US 422(LR 149)

Fair

Over: TRIB.TULPEHOCKEN CREEK

1 MI WEST OF WOMELSDORF, Berks, PA

Built 1951 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 7,966

SR 422EB(LR 1041)

Fair

Over: LEAFS RUN

US422EB-OLD 422EB JUNCT., Berks, PA

Built 1941 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 16,292

SR 422 WB(LR 146)

Fair

Over: LEAFS RUN

US 422WB-OLD 422 JUNCT., Berks, PA

Built 1967 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 15,457

PA 724(LR 147)

Fair

Over: TRIB SCHUYLKILL RIV

NEAR CHESTER COUNTY LINE, Berks, PA

Built 1949 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 5,108

SR 724 (LR 147)

Fair

Over: TRIB SCHUYLKILL RIV

1.3M.W OF CHESTER CO LINE, Berks, PA

Built 1949 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 5,108

PA TPK (I-76)

Fair

Over: TRIB TO E. BR. CONESTOGA

EAST OF MORGANTOWN, Berks, PA

Built 1950 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 39,934

WYOMISSING BLVD

Fair

Over: WYOMISSING CREEK

BORO OF WYOMISSING, Berks, PA

Built 1931 Load: 89.7 t ADT: 11,125

SR 3020

Fair

Over: KLINES CREEK

0.1MI.N.0F SR 222, Berks, PA

Built 2004 Load: 90.7 t ADT: 1,293

US 422(LR 793)

Fair

Over: WYOMISSING CREEK

READING BYPASS, Berks, PA

Built 1964 Load: 99.8 t ADT: 82,168

CO.WELFARE ROAD

Fair

Over: PLUM CREEK

1 MI.NO.OF STATE HILL, Berks, PA

Berks County Bridge Snapshot

Condition distribution

Berks County's Poor-condition bridges carry 312,870 vehicle crossings a day

68.1% of Berks County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

One structure carries 26.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

How Berks County compares with Pennsylvania'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 (667)

US 222 (LR 06150)

US 222 (LR 06150)

SR 2016 (LR 06212)

SR 2032(LR 06098)

T-775(GUN CLUB RD)

TROLLEY ROAD

T-393 OLD FRITZTN

SR 73

SR 4012 (LR 06162)

PA 61 (LR 160)

PA 61 (LR 160)

SR 78 (LR 141)

I-78 (LR 141)

SR2089(LR 1011)

US 422(LR 149)

SR 422EB(LR 1041)

SR 422 WB(LR 146)

PA 724(LR 147)

SR 724 (LR 147)

PA TPK (I-76)

WYOMISSING BLVD

SR 3020

US 422(LR 793)

CO.WELFARE ROAD

SR 222 SB(LR 157)

DETURK ROAD

SR 4028(LR06032SP)

SR3036 BRIDGE ONLY

US 222NB(LR 157)

FISHER MILL STRM R

US 222SB(LR157)

MEADOW AVENUE

COVERED BRIDGE RD

SCHULER ROAD

SR 3012 (LR 06063)

SR2007/KUTZTOWN RD

MONOCACY HILL ROAD

PA 419 (LR 310)

New Holland Road

SR 2082 (LR 328)

SR 422(LR 1041)

SR 2044 (LR 06195)

WATER STREET

SR 4049 (5th ST)

W.WYOMISSING AVE.

PA 662 (LR 06124)

SR 61(LR 160)

PAPER MILL RD

SR 4035 N 4TH ST

SR1021 (LR 06203)

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