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.

Total bridges

283

Public highway bridges in Buchanan County

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

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.

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

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.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Buchanan County and the 5 Virginia counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Prince William County 303 1.3%
Rockingham County 288 3.1%
Buchanan County (this page) 283 4.6%
Pittsylvania County 267 5.2%
Albemarle County 262 1.9%
Rockbridge County 255 3.5%

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).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside VA (1967 here).

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

All 283 Good 34 Fair 236 Poor 13

All bridges (283)

Anchor Rd.

Good

Over: Dry Tripe Branch

0.0-Rt. 83; 0.05-Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 2020 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 60

RIVERSIDE DR.

Good

Over: CONAWAY CREEK

10.65NCLGRUNDY;1.17KYLINE, Buchanan, VA

Built 1939 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 1,923

SUN BRANCH ROAD

Good

Over: SLATE CREEK

0.00 RT 83/ 0.10 DEAD END, Buchanan, VA

Built 2015 Load: 55.3 t ADT: 60

MAIN ST

Good

Over: SLATE CREEK

0.02 FR 83; 0.10 TO END, Buchanan, VA

Built 2008 Load: 57.2 t ADT: 750

FIRST BRANCH ROAD

Good

Over: TRACE FORK

0.0-Rt. 619; 0.0-Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 2015 Load: 57.2 t ADT: 60

DEEP CREEK ROAD

Good

Over: BIG PRATER CREEK

0.05 Rte 620;0.0 Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 2014 Load: 58.1 t ADT: 60

GRAVEL KNOLL RD

Good

Over: HURRICANE CREEK

0.02-Rt.600;0.01-Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 2016 Load: 59.9 t ADT: 500

NEW HOUSE BR ROAD

Good

Over: SLATE CREEK

0.0 Fr. 83;0.01 to 1003, Buchanan, VA

Built 2014 Load: 60.8 t ADT: 676

MURPHY RD.

Good

Over: PAW PAW CREEK

2.2M TO 619 & .OM TO 658, Buchanan, VA

Built 1975 Load: 61.7 t ADT: 122

JULIUS HALL MEM RD

Good

Over: BLACKEY FORK

AT R652S & .3 TO R652N, Buchanan, VA

Built 1976 Load: 61.7 t ADT: 1,343

Dismal River Rd.

Good

Over: LONG BRANCH

1.15 FR RT 715-.15 TO 641, Buchanan, VA

Built 1977 Load: 64.4 t ADT: 309

Viers Branch Road

Good

Over: War Fork

0.0-Rt 83; 0.50 Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 2014 Load: 66.2 t ADT: 60

ROUTE 460

Good

Over: SLATE CREEK

0.01FR83N;0.20TOT1012, Buchanan, VA

Built 2008 Load: 74.4 t ADT: 8,441

Rte. 460 / 83

Good

Over: Branch @ Grundy

0.31 scl Grundy;1.92 83N, Buchanan, VA

Built 2013 Load: 75.3 t ADT: 8,441

CURVE HOLLOW RD

Good

Over: GREENBRIER CREEK

0.0-Rt. 608; 0.3-Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 2016 Load: 75.3 t ADT: 580

BLUESTONE ROAD

Good

Over: HOME CREEK

0.00 RT 650 / Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 2016 Load: 77.1 t ADT: 170

CONNECTOR TO RT.80

Good

Over: ROUTE 768

4 TO 609 - 1.0 FR. 746, Buchanan, VA

Built 2015 Load: 78.9 t ADT: 248

RainesSch.HollowRd

Good

Over: War Fork

0.0-Rt. 83; 0.20-Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 1932 Load: 79.8 t ADT: 60

R 4074 (Colley Br)

Good

Over: WAR FORK

0.0 Rt. 83; 0.0 Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 2015 Load: 85.3 t ADT: 60

Upper Mill Branch

Good

Over: UPPER MILL CREEK

0.5 83;1.2 End Maintaine, Buchanan, VA

Built 1997 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 116

Big Branch Road

Poor

Over: DISMAL CREEK

4.25 fr 629; 0.05 to 638, Buchanan, VA

Built 1973 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 211

Booth Branch Rd.

Poor

Over: Slate Creek

.01BoothBr;.01BendSlateCk, Buchanan, VA

Built 1932 Load: 1.8 t ADT: 260

Campground Rd.

Poor

Over: Stream

0.10-Rt.80; 0.10-Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 1932 Load: 7.3 t ADT: 60

Turndown Rd.

Poor

Over: Garden Creek

0.0-Walker Rd;0.01-Rt.624, Buchanan, VA

Built 1932 Load: 7.3 t ADT: 60

Monroe Rd.

Poor

Over: Russell Fork

0.2-Rt. 80; 0.10-Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 1932 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 60

Wellmore Hollow Rd

Poor

Over: Levisa Fork

0.0-Rt.460; 0.20-Dead End, Buchanan, VA

Built 1932 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 100

STILTNERS BOTTOMRD

Poor

Over: LEVISA RIVER

AT R460;AT END MAINT., Buchanan, VA

Built 1978 Load: 25.4 t ADT: 48

LESTERS FORK ROAD

Poor

Over: LESTERS FORK

1.15 To 651S&2.65 Fr 651N, Buchanan, VA

Built 1970 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 1,061

Brown Mtn. Road

Poor

Over: DISMAL RIVER

AT R638; 6.8 TO R621, Buchanan, VA

Built 1972 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 639

OLD ROCKLICK RD.

Poor

Over: LEVISA RIVER

.00FRRT460;.01TORT700, Buchanan, VA

Built 1966 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 1,973

OLD LESTERS FK RD.

Poor

Over: LESTERS FORK

2.0 TO R675&1.0 FR R650N, Buchanan, VA

Built 1989 Load: 59.9 t ADT: 311

Deskins Road

Poor

Over: PRATER CREEK

.0 FR RT 83-3.45 TO 657, Buchanan, VA

Built 1978 Load: 61.7 t ADT: 818

PAW PAW RD

Poor

Over: PAW PAW RUN

0.0 FR 643 & 3.0 TO 644, Buchanan, VA

Built 1980 Load: 83.5 t ADT: 1,263

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →
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.