County profile · official public datasets

Highland County, VA

53 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 49.1% rated Good, 45.3% Fair, 5.7% Poor.

53
Public bridges
49.1%
Good condition
5.7%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Highland 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.

90th
of 129 on Poor share
5.7%
Poor-condition share
53
public highway bridges
1965
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.

Highland County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Highland County ranks #90 of 129 Virginia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 5.7%). Highland County, Virginia contains 53 public highway bridges. Roughly 49.1% are rated “Good,” 45.3% “Fair,” and 5.7% “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

53

Public highway bridges in Highland County

Good condition

49.1%

26 of 53 rated 7-9

Fair condition

45.3%

24 of 53 rated 5-6

Poor condition

5.7%

3 of 53 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#90 of 129

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

Condition distribution

Share of 53 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
49.1% (26)
Fair
45.3% (24)
Poor
5.7% (3)

Highland County's Poor-condition bridges carry 1,622 vehicle crossings a day

That is 9.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 5.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 541 crossings a day against 299 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 53 of 53 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

52.8% of Highland County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

28 of the 53 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 49.1% 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% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

POTOMAC RIVER ROAD over E BRANCH STRAIT CREEK, built 1931, carries 1,314 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 3-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 1,622 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Highland County's bridges were built

53 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1930s, when 15 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 28.3% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 85 to 94 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1965, 9 years older than the Virginia average of 1974.

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

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

The 5 Virginia counties nearest Highland County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 5.7% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1965 against a peer-group mean of 1977 is 12 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Highland County and the 5 Virginia counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Fluvanna County 55 1.8%
Highland County (this page) 53 5.7%
Danville city County 50 4%
Hampton city County 50 6%
Portsmouth city County 50 2%
Greene County 49 6.1%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside VA (53 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside VA (1965 here).

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

All 53 Good 26 Fair 24 Poor 3

Good-condition bridges (26)

FORKS OF WATER RD

Good

Over: STRAIT CREEK

0.03 RT 220-1.73 DEAD END, Highland, VA

Built 1932 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 52

BIG VALLEY RD

Good

Over: TRIB BOLAR RUN

3.73 RT 606 - 3.75 RT 694, Highland, VA

Built 1953 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 39

MILL LANE

Good

Over: JACKSON RIVER

0.60 RT 637 - 0.40 RT 640, Highland, VA

Built 1991 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 14

DOE HILL ROAD

Good

Over: TRIB BULLPASTURE RIVER

0.35 RT 651 - 0.75 RT 617, Highland, VA

Built 1996 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 364

BIG VALLEY ROAD

Good

Over: TRIB DRY BRANCH

0.65 RT 606 - 6.95 RT 694, Highland, VA

Built 1953 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 39

POTOMAC RVER ROAD

Good

Over: PECK RUN

0.33 RT 635 - 0.04 RT 626, Highland, VA

Built 2000 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,314

BIG VALLEY ROAD

Good

Over: BOLAR RUN

1.10 RT 220 -0.50 RT 694, Highland, VA

Built 2005 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 98

WIMMER MTN ROAD

Good

Over: KEY RUN

0.15 RT 650 -00.25 RT 642, Highland, VA

Built 1993 Load: 35.1 t ADT: 192

VALLEY CENTER ROAD

Good

Over: BACK CREEK

0.54 RT 604 - 0.03 RT 600, Highland, VA

Built 1997 Load: 35.7 t ADT: 64

MILL GAP ROAD

Good

Over: TOWNSEND DRAFT

2.57 W VA - 1.70 RT 600, Highland, VA

Built 2000 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 148

BLUGRASS VALLEY RD

Good

Over: TRIB S BR POTOMAC RIVER

0.40 RT 642N-0.30 RT 642S, Highland, VA

Built 2008 Load: 40.7 t ADT: 340

COWPASTURE RVR RDN

Good

Over: S F S BR POTOMAC RIVER

0.07 RT 620S-0.01 RT 620N, Highland, VA

Built 1976 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 127

HIGHLAND TURNPIKE

Good

Over: BULLPASTURE RIVER @ MC D

4.32 RT 614 - 0.03 RT 678, Highland, VA

Built 1998 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 1,022

HIGHLAND TURNPIKE

Good

Over: COWPASTURE RIVER

0.10 RT 614 - 1.40 RT 616, Highland, VA

Built 1994 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 1,022

MILL GAP ROAD

Good

Over: TOWNSEND DRAFT

3.34 W VA - 0.93 RT 600, Highland, VA

Built 2000 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 148

BIG VALLEY RD

Good

Over: JACKSON RIVER

0.10 RT 220 - 1.50 RT 694, Highland, VA

Built 1972 Load: 50.8 t ADT: 98

HIGHLAND TURNPIKE

Good

Over: SHAW FORK @ HEADWATERS

0.01 RT 616N-0.19 RT 616S, Highland, VA

Built 2001 Load: 50.8 t ADT: 1,022

BIG VALLEY RD

Good

Over: JACKSON RIVER

0.02 RT 220 - 1.78 RT 606, Highland, VA

Built 1969 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 95

RAVENS RUN ROAD

Good

Over: JACKSON RIVER

0.46 DEAD END-0.02 RT 220, Highland, VA

Built 1932 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 12

RTE 250

Good

Over: CRAB RUN @ MCDOWELL

0.03 RT 645 - 0.02 RT 654, Highland, VA

Built 2012 Load: 52.9 t ADT: 1,057

COWPASTRE RVR RD S

Good

Over: COWPASTURE RIVER

2.90 RT 613 -2.26 BATH CO, Highland, VA

Built 2001 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 80

DOE HILL ROAD

Good

Over: TRIB BULLPASTURE RIVER

0.09 RT 622 - 0.04 RT 624, Highland, VA

Built 1979 Load: 55.3 t ADT: 129

COWPASTURE RVR S.

Good

Over: COWPASTURE RIVER

4.46 TO BATH& 1.04 TO 613, Highland, VA

Built 1991 Load: 56.2 t ADT: 31

DAVIS RUN ROAD

Good

Over: CRAB RUN

0.08 RT 250 - 4.52 RT 678, Highland, VA

Built 1982 Load: 60.8 t ADT: 38

THE PINES ROAD

Good

Over: TRIB STRAIT CREEK

1.47 RT 655 - 0.05 RT 220, Highland, VA

Built 1990 Load: 61.7 t ADT: 58

LOWER FORK ROAD

Good

Over: COWPASTURE RIVER

0.02 RT 614 - 4.17 RT 250, Highland, VA

Built 1978 Load: 66.2 t ADT: 165

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

Related

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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.