Total bridges
283
Public highway bridges in Buchanan County
County profile · official public datasets
Buchanan County, VA
283 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 12% rated Good, 83.4% Fair, 4.6% Poor.
- 283
- Public bridges
- 12%
- Good condition
- 4.6%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Buchanan 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.
- 81st
- of 129 on Poor share
- 4.6%
- Poor-condition share
- 283
- public highway bridges
- 1967
- 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.
Buchanan County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Buchanan County ranks #81 of 129 Virginia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4.6%). Buchanan County, Virginia contains 283 public highway bridges. Roughly 12% are rated “Good,” 83.4% “Fair,” and 4.6% “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.
Good condition
12%
34 of 283 rated 7-9
Fair condition
83.4%
236 of 283 rated 5-6
Poor condition
4.6%
13 of 283 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#81 of 129
Among Virginia counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 283 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 12% (34)
Fair 83.4% (236)
Poor 4.6% (13)
Buchanan County's Poor-condition bridges carry 6,864 vehicle crossings a day
That is 3.7% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4.6% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 528 crossings a day against 809 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 283 of 283 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
50.2% of Buchanan County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
142 of the 283 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 12% 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 28.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
OLD ROCKLICK RD. over LEVISA RIVER, built 1966, carries 1,973 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 13-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 6,864 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Buchanan County's bridges were built
283 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1930s
1930–1939
94 bridges
- 1940s 3
1940–1949
3 bridges
- 1950s 5
1950–1959
5 bridges
- 1960s 26
1960–1969
26 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
40 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
53 bridges
- 1990s 15
1990–1999
15 bridges
- 2000s 23
2000–2009
23 bridges
- 2010s 20
2010–2019
20 bridges
- 2020s 4
2020–2029
4 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1930s, when 94 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 33.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 85 to 94 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1967, 7 years older than the Virginia average of 1974.
How Buchanan County compares with Virginia's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Virginia counties nearest Buchanan County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4.6% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1967 against a peer-group mean of 1973 is 6 years older.
Showing the 5 closest of 128 Virginia counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince William County | 303 | 54.5% | 44.2% | 1.3% | 1989 |
| Rockingham County | 288 | 53.1% | 43.8% | 3.1% | 1972 |
| Buchanan County (this page) | 283 | 12% | 83.4% | 4.6% | 1967 |
| Pittsylvania County | 267 | 40.8% | 53.9% | 5.2% | 1977 |
| Albemarle County | 262 | 34.4% | 63.7% | 1.9% | 1962 |
| Rockbridge County | 255 | 31% | 65.5% | 3.5% | 1964 |
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 Buchanan 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 Buchanan County, both outside Virginia so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside VA (283 bridges here).
- Forrest County, MS · 283 bridges
- Ashland County, OH · 283 bridges
- Cooke County, TX · 283 bridges
- Logan County, OK · 284 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside VA (1967 here).
- Los Angeles County, CA · avg 1967 · 3,547 bridges
- Allegheny County, PA · avg 1967 · 1,294 bridges
- Sonoma County, CA · avg 1967 · 609 bridges
- Merced County, CA · avg 1967 · 528 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (236)
Little Prater Road
FairOver: CRIPPLE CREEK
0.3 to 460;1.7 End Maint, Buchanan, VA
Built 1983 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,610
ROUTE 619
FairOver: BIG LICK
0.0 TO R83& 2.20 FR R612, Buchanan, VA
Built 1984 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 780
DRY FORK RD
FairOver: DRY FORK
.25M TO 83 & 7.2M TO 624, Buchanan, VA
Built 1984 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,017
DRY FORK RD
FairOver: DRY FORK
2.75M TO 83 & 4.7M TO 624, Buchanan, VA
Built 1986 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,017
PAGE DR.
FairOver: GARDEN CREEK
0.01 FR 624;3.0 TO 626, Buchanan, VA
Built 1981 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 440
COMPTON MTN ROAD
FairOver: SLATE CREEK
.02FRRT83;4.48TORT628, Buchanan, VA
Built 1979 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 123
HALE CREEK ROAD
FairOver: SLATE CREEK
0.08 RT 641; 0.02 Rt 83, Buchanan, VA
Built 1983 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 798
JULIUS HALL MEM RD
FairOver: BLACKEY FORK
4.0 TO R83 & .0 TO R653, Buchanan, VA
Built 1980 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,079
JULIUS HALL MEM RD
FairOver: PAW PAW RUN
1.75 TO R645 & .5 TO R697, Buchanan, VA
Built 1982 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,165
HUNTS FORK RD.
FairOver: HUNTS FORK CREEK
1.95 TO ENDMA&.05 TO R645, Buchanan, VA
Built 1982 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 255
PAW PAW RD.
FairOver: PAW PAW RUN
1.1 TO R644-1.4 M TO R643, Buchanan, VA
Built 1979 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,263
ROUTE 646
FairOver: GUESS FORK
0.0M FR 647 & 2.8M TO 643, Buchanan, VA
Built 1982 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 753
LESTERS FORK ROAD
FairOver: LESTERS FORK
3.7 TO R651S; .1 TO R651N, Buchanan, VA
Built 1982 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,061
LESTERS FORK ROAD
FairOver: LESTERS FORK
1.8 TO R643; AT R651, Buchanan, VA
Built 1980 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,061
LESTERS FORK ROAD
FairOver: LESTERS FORK
2.55FR 651S; 1.25TO 651N, Buchanan, VA
Built 1987 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,061
LESTERS FORK ROAD
FairOver: LESTERS FORK
1.4 TO R651S;2.3 TO R651N, Buchanan, VA
Built 1987 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,061
LESTERS FORK RD.
FairOver: LESTERS FORK
.05 TO R651S&3.65 TOR651N, Buchanan, VA
Built 1982 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,061
LESTERS FORK ROAD
FairOver: HOME CREEK
.24 TO R659; 3.7 TO R651, Buchanan, VA
Built 1980 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 422
OLDLESTERS FK RD
FairOver: LESTERS FORK
0.3 FR 650 & 2.70 TO 675, Buchanan, VA
Built 1982 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 893
LYNN CAMP BR RD
FairOver: LYNN CAMP BRANCH
.15MTO460&4.65MTOENDMAIN, Buchanan, VA
Built 1986 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 418
LOONEYS CREEK RD
FairOver: LOONEY CREEK
.70M TO 460 & 2.3M TO 677, Buchanan, VA
Built 1979 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 109
WATKINS ST.
FairOver: WALKINS BRANCH
.26MTOENDMAINT&.1MTOT1010, Buchanan, VA
Built 1982 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 222
ABNERS FORK RD
FairOver: ABNERS FORK
.25 TO R645; .6 TO ENDMNT, Buchanan, VA
Built 1985 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 126
CONTRARY CREEK RD.
FairOver: CONTRARY CREEK
0.64 TO 629; 0.01 FR 722, Buchanan, VA
Built 1985 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 4,332
Family Circle Road
FairOver: DISMAL RIVER
.02END MAIN;0.0 R638, Buchanan, VA
Built 1978 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 74
ROUTE 711
FairOver: UPPER ELK CREEK
2.5 TO ENDMN & .8 TO KYLN, Buchanan, VA
Built 1984 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 345
ROUTE 1002
FairOver: SLATE CREEK
AT RT1001 & AT RT83, Buchanan, VA
Built 1982 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 691
OLD LESTERS FORK
FairOver: BUSHY CREEK
2.05 TO R675&0.95 TO R650, Buchanan, VA
Built 1992 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 311
Upper Mill Branch
FairOver: UPPER MILL CREEK
.47 FR 83 - 1.23TO ENDMNT, Buchanan, VA
Built 1992 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 116
POPLAR CREEK RD.
FairOver: POPLAR CREEK
0.15 FR 460 & 2.20 TO 615, Buchanan, VA
Built 1991 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 858
Hobby House Road
FairOver: GARDEN CREEK
0.0 to R624&.02 fr end ma, Buchanan, VA
Built 1993 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 83
ROUTE 627
FairOver: DRY FORK
6.75 FR 624; 0.7 TO 83, Buchanan, VA
Built 1994 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 1,017
OLD LESTERS FK RD.
FairOver: LEFT FORK LESTER FORK
0.65 TO R675&2.35 FR R650, Buchanan, VA
Built 1996 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 297
OLD LESTERS FK RD.
FairOver: LEFT FORK LESTER FORK
0.30 TO R675&2.70 FR R650, Buchanan, VA
Built 1996 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 297
OLD SPRINGS ROAD
FairOver: GREENBRIER CREEK
AT 608;0.34 TO END MAINT., Buchanan, VA
Built 1990 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 104
Rattlesnake Rd.
FairOver: Big Prater Creek
0.02-Rt.620; 1.0-Dead End, Buchanan, VA
Built 2020 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 100
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
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.