County profile · official public datasets

Bennington County, VT

215 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 57.2% rated Good, 41.9% Fair, 0.9% Poor.

215
Public bridges
57.2%
Good condition
0.9%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Bennington County posts a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

Top 21%
lowest Poor share in state
0.9%
Poor-condition share
215
public highway bridges
1964
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.

Bennington County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Bennington County ranks #3 of 14 Vermont counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 0.9%). Bennington County, Vermont contains 215 public highway bridges. Roughly 57.2% are rated “Good,” 41.9% “Fair,” and 0.9% “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

215

Public highway bridges in Bennington County

Good condition

57.2%

123 of 215 rated 7-9

Fair condition

41.9%

90 of 215 rated 5-6

Poor condition

0.9%

2 of 215 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#3 of 14

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

Condition distribution

Share of 215 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
57.2% (123)
Fair
41.9% (90)
Poor
0.9% (2)

Bennington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 1,230 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.2% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 0.9% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 615 crossings a day against 2,595 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 215 of 215 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

57.2% of Bennington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

123 of the 215 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 57.2% 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 81.3% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

VT 00100 ML over DEERFIELD RIVER, built 1954, carries 1,000 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 2-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 1,230 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Bennington County's bridges were built

215 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 32 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 14.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1964) matches the Vermont average (1964).

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

How Bennington County compares with Vermont's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Vermont counties nearest Bennington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 0.9% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1964 against a peer-group mean of 1965 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 13 Vermont counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Bennington County and the 5 Vermont counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Washington County 248 3.6%
Caledonia County 247 1.6%
Bennington County (this page) 215 0.9%
Orange County 208 1.9%
Chittenden County 184 2.2%
Orleans County 181 2.8%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside VT (215 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside VT (1964 here).

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

Fair-condition bridges (90)

VT 00011 ML

Fair

Over: BROMLEY PARKNG ACCESS RD

1.3 MI E JCT VT 30, Bennington, VT

Built 1980 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 4,600

TR 02 FAS 171

Fair

Over: ROARING BRANCH

0.4 MI S. JCT TH2 & TH11, Bennington, VT

Built 1870 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 830

C3051

Fair

Over: JEWETT BROOK

0.1 MI TO JCT W CL3 TH49, Bennington, VT

Built 1900 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 500

VT 00313 ML

Fair

Over: GREEN RIVER

3.7 MI W JCT VT 7A, Bennington, VT

Built 1925 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 2,700

VT 00030 ML

Fair

Over: METTAWEE RIVER

0.1 MI N JCT. VT.315, Bennington, VT

Built 1929 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 2,700

C2008

Fair

Over: BATTEN KILL RIVER

0.1 MI JCT TH 8 & TH 17, Bennington, VT

Built 1965 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 600

CITY DEPOT

Fair

Over: WALLOOMSAC RIVER

DEPOT STREET, Bennington, VT

Built 1926 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 4,600

TR 01 FAS 114

Fair

Over: FAYVILLE BRANCH

1.0 MI E JCT. VT.7A S, Bennington, VT

Built 1934 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 1,600

C3010

Fair

Over: METTAWEE RIVER

@ JCT W CL 3 TH7, Bennington, VT

Built 1953 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 250

C3026

Fair

Over: WHITE CREEK

0.04 MI TO JCT W CL3 TH4, Bennington, VT

Built 1931 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 10

C2002

Fair

Over: GREEN RIVER

0.1MI N JCT TH18 & TH2, Bennington, VT

Built 1928 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 150

C3049

Fair

Over: COLD SPRING BROOK

0.1 MI TO JCT W VT67, Bennington, VT

Built 1988 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 250

VT 00030 ML

Fair

Over: W. BR. BATTEN KILL R.

0.3 MI N JCT. VT 7A, Bennington, VT

Built 1932 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 5,700

VT 0007A ALT

Fair

Over: FURNACE BROOK

0.1 MI N JCT. VT.67A, Bennington, VT

Built 1930 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 6,100

TR 01 FAS 131

Fair

Over: INDIAN RIVER

6.5 MI W JCT. VT.30, Bennington, VT

Built 1924 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 450

VT 0007A ALT

Fair

Over: ROARING BROOK

0.8 MI N JCT. VT.313, Bennington, VT

Built 1985 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 4,000

C3017

Fair

Over: GREEN RIVER

0.1 MI JCT TH17 & TH 1, Bennington, VT

Built 1939 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 60

ROAD

Fair

Over: DEERFIELD RIVER WEST BR

NO DATA ENTERED, Bennington, VT

Built 1976 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 25

C3318

Fair

Over: WALLOOMSAC RIVER

0.03 MI TO JCT W CL2 TH7, Bennington, VT

Built 1985 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 300

TR 03 FAS 114 FH6

Fair

Over: ROARING BRANCH BROOK

7.4 MI E JCT US 7, Bennington, VT

Built 1935 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 70

US 00007 ML

Fair

Over: US7 OVER VT 11

EXIT 4, Bennington, VT

Built 1989 Load: 46.3 t ADT: 6,200

C3015

Fair

Over: SO BR.DEERFIELD R.

0.01 MI TO JCT W C3 TH14, Bennington, VT

Built 1930 Load: 48.1 t ADT: 20

US 00007 ML

Fair

Over: US 7 OVER VT RR

8.1 MI N JCT. VT.30 W, Bennington, VT

Built 1966 Load: 49.0 t ADT: 4,300

VT 00346 ML

Fair

Over: HOOSIC RIVER

4.7 MI W JCT. U.S.7, Bennington, VT

Built 1983 Load: 50.8 t ADT: 1,300

CITY 0PARK

Fair

Over: FURNACE BROOK

PARK STREET, Bennington, VT

Built 1960 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 5,000

VT 00100 ML

Fair

Over: NO. BR. HOOSIC RIVER

4.2 MI N MASS.STATE LINE, Bennington, VT

Built 1963 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 1,000

C3344

Fair

Over: WALLOOMSAC RIVER

CORNER OF PARK & SCOTT, Bennington, VT

Built 1948 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 800

VT 00100 ML

Fair

Over: W. BR. DEERFIELD RIVER

3.3 MI N JCT. VT.8, Bennington, VT

Built 1970 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 670

VT 0007A ALT

Fair

Over: MAD TOM BROOK

4.5 MI N JCT. VT.30 W, Bennington, VT

Built 1959 Load: 56.2 t ADT: 3,000

VT 00030 ML

Fair

Over: WINHALL RIVER

1.7 MI N JCT. VT.100 N, Bennington, VT

Built 1938 Load: 57.2 t ADT: 4,300

VT 00100 ML

Fair

Over: NO. BR. HOOSIC RIVER

2.8 MI N MASS.STATE LINE, Bennington, VT

Built 1963 Load: 57.2 t ADT: 1,000

VT 00009 ML

Fair

Over: CITY STREAM

5.2 MI E JCT US 7, Bennington, VT

Built 1959 Load: 58.1 t ADT: 4,100

VT 00279 ML

Fair

Over: BROOK

1.71 MI E NY STATE LINE, Bennington, VT

Built 2002 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 7,600

US 00007 ML

Fair

Over: MAD TOM BROOK

0.2 MI SOUTH JCT. VT7A, Bennington, VT

Built 1990 Load: 66.2 t ADT: 3,200

VT 00100 ML

Fair

Over: NO. BR. HOOSIC RIVER

3.9 MI N MASS.STATE LINE, Bennington, VT

Built 1963 Load: 66.2 t ADT: 1,000

US 00007 ML

Fair

Over: US 7 OVER BENN SH N

0.2 MI E JCT VT 7A @ EX 2, Bennington, VT

Built 1973 Load: 67.1 t ADT: 10,900

CITY 0SCHL

Fair

Over: WALLOOMSAC RIVER

SCHOOL STREET, Bennington, VT

Built 1985 Load: 68.0 t ADT: 1,900

C3021

Fair

Over: WHITE CREEK

0.3 MI TO JCT W CL2 TH1, Bennington, VT

Built 1919 Load: 70.8 t ADT: 10

US 00007 ML

Fair

Over: US 7 OVER BENN SH N

0.2 MI E JCT VT 7A @ EX 2, Bennington, VT

Built 1973 Load: 70.8 t ADT: 10,900

US 00007 ML

Fair

Over: BOURN BROOK

0.9 MI S EXIT 4, Bennington, VT

Built 1982 Load: 81.6 t ADT: 6,200
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.