County profile · official public datasets

Culpeper County, VA

99 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 26.3% rated Good, 69.7% Fair, 4% Poor.

99
Public bridges
26.3%
Good condition
4%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Culpeper County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across rated county bridge inventory.

72nd
of 129 on Poor share
4%
Poor-condition share
99
public highway bridges
1971
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.

Culpeper County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Culpeper County ranks #72 of 129 Virginia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 4%). Culpeper County, Virginia contains 99 public highway bridges. Roughly 26.3% are rated “Good,” 69.7% “Fair,” and 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

99

Public highway bridges in Culpeper County

Good condition

26.3%

26 of 99 rated 7-9

Fair condition

69.7%

69 of 99 rated 5-6

Poor condition

4%

4 of 99 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#72 of 129

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

Condition distribution

Share of 99 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
26.3% (26)
Fair
69.7% (69)
Poor
4% (4)

Culpeper County's Poor-condition bridges carry 1,821 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.3% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 455 crossings a day against 3,896 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 99 of 99 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

53.5% of Culpeper County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

53 of the 99 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 26.3% 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 57.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

Reva Road over Devils Run, built 1986, carries 1,052 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 4-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 1,821 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Culpeper County's bridges were built

99 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 23 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 23.2% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1971) matches the Virginia average (1974).

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

How Culpeper County compares with Virginia's closest counties by inventory size

The 5 Virginia counties nearest Culpeper County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 4% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1971 against a peer-group mean of 1971 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 128 Virginia counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Culpeper County and the 5 Virginia counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Pulaski County 105 2.9%
Spotsylvania County 102 0%
Culpeper County (this page) 99 4%
Charlotte County 97 3.1%
Giles County 96 3.1%
Page County 96 1%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside VA (99 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside VA (1971 here).

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

All 99 Good 26 Fair 69 Poor 4

Fair-condition bridges (69)

Locust Dale Road

Fair

Over: Robinson River

Culpeper/Madison Co. Line, Culpeper, VA

Built 1979 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 470

Docs Road

Fair

Over: Thornton River

.85From 627 & .20 To 626, Culpeper, VA

Built 1969 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 112

Gibson Mill Road

Fair

Over: Mountain Run

1.60 From 522 &.80 To 719, Culpeper, VA

Built 1982 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 1,133

Keyser Road

Fair

Over: Mountain Run

.05 From667 & .65 To 699, Culpeper, VA

Built 1988 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 4,958

ROUTE 0003

Fair

Over: NS RAILWAY

0116522 004615, Culpeper, VA

Built 1950 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 9,107

Route 15/29 Bus.

Fair

Over: Route 15/29 Bypass

.70 From 342 & .35 To 665, Culpeper, VA

Built 1972 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 11,162

Rixeyville Road

Fair

Over: Muddy Run

.90 From 630 & .35 To 631, Culpeper, VA

Built 1936 Load: 55.3 t ADT: 7,785

JamesMonroeHwy NBL

Fair

Over: Crooked Run

Culpeper/Madison Co. Line, Culpeper, VA

Built 1935 Load: 56.2 t ADT: 10,181

ROUTE 0003

Fair

Over: NS RAILWAY

1.20-522&.42TO15/29, Culpeper, VA

Built 1950 Load: 56.2 t ADT: 9,107

Alum Springs Road

Fair

Over: Muddy Run

1.80 From 229 .75 To 632, Culpeper, VA

Built 1984 Load: 71.7 t ADT: 1,245

Rixeyville Road

Fair

Over: Hazel River

1.23 From 640 &.30 To 611, Culpeper, VA

Built 1994 Load: 76.2 t ADT: 8,071

SPERRYVILLE PIKE

Fair

Over: MOUNTAIN RUN

0130CULPE CO 002215 & 29, Culpeper, VA

Built 1992 Load: 77.1 t ADT: 10,489

Rapidan Road

Fair

Over: Cedar Run

1.50From 522 & .60 To 651, Culpeper, VA

Built 1920 Load: 80.7 t ADT: 1,800

James Madison Hwy.

Fair

Over: Jonas Run

1.75 From663 &.90 To15Bus, Culpeper, VA

Built 1975 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 45,369

James Madison Hwy

Fair

Over: Branch Jonas Run

1.04 From663&1.61To15Bus, Culpeper, VA

Built 1975 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 45,369

15/29 Bypass SBL

Fair

Over: Mountain Run

1.22 From 3 &1.15 To 666, Culpeper, VA

Built 1971 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 14,060

15/29 Bypass NBL

Fair

Over: Mountain Run

1.22 From 3 & 1.15 To 666, Culpeper, VA

Built 1971 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 14,060

Rixeyville Road

Fair

Over: Stream

1.70From 621 & .51 To 211, Culpeper, VA

Built 1962 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 8,063

Sperryville Pike

Fair

Over: Devils Run

1.37From 707 & .38 To 646, Culpeper, VA

Built 1939 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 7,809

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

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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.