County profile · official public datasets

Washington County, VA

186 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 17.2% rated Good, 81.7% Fair, 1.1% Poor.

186
Public bridges
17.2%
Good condition
1.1%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Washington County pairs a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.

Top 24%
lowest Poor share in state
1.1%
Poor-condition share
186
public highway bridges
1968
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.

Washington County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Washington County ranks #31 of 129 Virginia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 1.1%). Washington County, Virginia contains 186 public highway bridges. Roughly 17.2% are rated “Good,” 81.7% “Fair,” and 1.1% “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

186

Public highway bridges in Washington County

Good condition

17.2%

32 of 186 rated 7-9

Fair condition

81.7%

152 of 186 rated 5-6

Poor condition

1.1%

2 of 186 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#31 of 129

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

Condition distribution

Share of 186 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
17.2% (32)
Fair
81.7% (152)
Poor
1.1% (2)

Washington County's Poor-condition bridges carry 3,790 vehicle crossings a day

That is 0.2% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 1.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,895 crossings a day against 5,775 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 186 of 186 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

64% of Washington County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

119 of the 186 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 17.2% 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 98.5% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

Lee Highway over HALL CREEK, built 1932, carries 3,734 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 3,790 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Washington County's bridges were built

186 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1960s, when 59 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 31.7% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 55 to 64 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1968, 6 years older than the Virginia average of 1974.

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

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

The 5 Virginia counties nearest Washington County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 1.1% Poor share is the 1st-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1968 against a peer-group mean of 1975 is 7 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Washington County and the 5 Virginia counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Montgomery County 196 2.6%
Smyth County 190 4.2%
Chesapeake city County 187 5.9%
Washington County (this page) 186 1.1%
Arlington County 183 3.8%
Wythe County 181 3.3%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside VA (186 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside VA (1968 here).

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

All 186 Good 32 Fair 152 Poor 2

Good-condition bridges (32)

NO DATA ENTERED

Good

Over: STRAIGHT BRANCH

JCT of 58 & FSR 90, Washington, VA

Built 2019 Load: 25.3 t ADT: 50

BORDWINE RD.

Good

Over: BEAVER CREEK

1.00 TO 645; 1.20 FR 11, Washington, VA

Built 1971 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 1,535

ROUTE 710

Good

Over: ROCKHOUSE RUN

1.10FR711;1.20TO TENN LIN, Washington, VA

Built 1985 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 201

CUMMINGS STREET

Good

Over: TOWN CREEK

0.23 RTE 1515;0.05 RTE 81, Washington, VA

Built 1959 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 7,188

ROUTE 11

Good

Over: NS RAILWAY

.06 FR 609 & .07 FR 702, Washington, VA

Built 2001 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 17,651

712 (DELMAR ROAD)

Good

Over: S FORK HOLSTON RIVER

1.35 TO RT58-.05 FR 711, Washington, VA

Built 1932 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 500

ROUTE 704

Good

Over: I-81

0.68 FR US-11;0.39 TO 609, Washington, VA

Built 1994 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 5,048

US-11(LEE HIGHWAY)

Good

Over: I-81

1.36 TO 835; 0.30 FR. 661, Washington, VA

Built 1963 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 2,919

AZEN ROAD

Good

Over: LAUREL CREEK

0.04 TO 603;0.10 SMYTH CO, Washington, VA

Built 1963 Load: 47.2 t ADT: 211

CANEY VALLEY RD

Good

Over: GASPARD CREEK

0.10 TO 625E; .70 TO 625W, Washington, VA

Built 2000 Load: 47.2 t ADT: 92

JEB STUART HWY WBL

Good

Over: SF HOLSTN RV RTE 711 N&W

6.76 FR R11 & 3.85 TO R91, Washington, VA

Built 2023 Load: 49.0 t ADT: 2,955

CUMMINGS STREET

Good

Over: TOWN CREEK

0.23 TO 670; 0.05TO 1515, Washington, VA

Built 1973 Load: 49.9 t ADT: 7,188

ROUTE 1203

Good

Over: BEAVER DAM CREEK

.10 FR 716; .03 TO 1204, Washington, VA

Built 2022 Load: 49.9 t ADT: 675

ROUTE 725

Good

Over: LAUREL CREEK

0.45 TO 726 0.15 DEAD END, Washington, VA

Built 2022 Load: 49.9 t ADT: 261

WOLF CREEK TRAIL

Good

Over: WOLF CREEK

0.01 TO 19 & 0.45 TO 645, Washington, VA

Built 1966 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 314

RICH VALLEY ROAD

Good

Over: FINLEY CREEK

.05 FR 741E; .15 TO 741W, Washington, VA

Built 1932 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 234

Village Boulevard

Good

Over: WOLF CREEK

.01M To 19;0.25M To 645, Washington, VA

Built 2005 Load: 55.3 t ADT: 300

ROUTE I-81 (NBL)

Good

Over: ROUTE 808 & SINKING CK

1.15 FR. 11; 1.97 TO 611, Washington, VA

Built 2017 Load: 57.2 t ADT: 26,062

FRONTAGE ROUTE 310

Good

Over: I-81 / US-58

.04M TOF021 & .12M TO 11, Washington, VA

Built 1963 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 6,131

Spring Creek Road

Good

Over: Spring Creek

.10 TO R647- .50 FR RT.11, Washington, VA

Built 2015 Load: 68.0 t ADT: 1,973

ROUTE I-81 (SBL)

Good

Over: ROUTE 808 & SINKING CK

1.15 FR 11; 1.97 TO 611, Washington, VA

Built 2018 Load: 68.0 t ADT: 25,536

INTERSTATE 81; SBL

Good

Over: Old Jonesboro Rd

MM 14.97 @ EXIT 14, Washington, VA

Built 2018 Load: 68.9 t ADT: 26,397

INTERSTATE 81 NBL

Good

Over: Old Jonesboro Rd

14.97TENN;2.16TO75 EXIT14, Washington, VA

Built 2017 Load: 68.9 t ADT: 25,934

GREEN SPRINGS CHRD

Good

Over: S FORK HOLSTON RIVER

1.50FRRT674;0.25TORT664, Washington, VA

Built 2015 Load: 69.9 t ADT: 1,504

GREEN SPRINGS ChRd

Good

Over: WOLF CREEK

0.19 FR. 658; 0.21 TO 75, Washington, VA

Built 2019 Load: 69.9 t ADT: 1,798

Tumbling Creek RD

Good

Over: Tumbling Creek

1.30 FR. 613-0.70 TO END, Washington, VA

Built 2012 Load: 74.4 t ADT: 90

BRUMLEY GAP RD.

Good

Over: MUDLICK CREEK

0.47FR613;3.2TO RUSSEL CO, Washington, VA

Built 2000 Load: 86.2 t ADT: 210

N. FORK RIVER ROAD

Good

Over: TUMBLING CREEK

0.00 Fr. 747; 3.00 To 874, Washington, VA

Built 1932 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 170

McCALL GAP RD.

Good

Over: LIVINGSTON CREEK

0.0 TO 617N; 1.0 TO 617S, Washington, VA

Built 1994 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 73

JEB STUART HIGHWAY

Good

Over: M FORK HOLSTON RIVEV

2.7M TO I81;8.2M TO RT 91, Washington, VA

Built 2012 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 6,283

JEB STUART HWY

Good

Over: MIDDLE FORK HOLSTON RIVR

2.40 TO R11 - 8.19 FR 91, Washington, VA

Built 2012 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 12,567

SC-677(WATAUGA RD)

Good

Over: FIFTEEN MILE CREEK

0.55 FR. 675; 1.10 TO 902, Washington, VA

Built 2019 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 2,761

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.