County profile · official public datasets

Chelan County, WA

149 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 57.7% rated Good, 34.2% Fair, 8.1% Poor.

149
Public bridges: 57.7%
Good condition: 8.1%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

28th
of 39 on Poor share: 8.1%
Poor-condition share: 149
public highway bridges: 1974
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.

Chelan County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Chelan County ranks #28 of 39 Washington counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 8.1%). Chelan County, Washington contains 149 public highway bridges. Roughly 57.7% are rated “Good,” 34.2% “Fair,” and 8.1% “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

149

Public highway bridges in Chelan County

Good condition

57.7%

86 of 149 rated 7-9

Fair condition

34.2%

51 of 149 rated 5-6

Poor condition

8.1%

12 of 149 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#28 of 39

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

Condition distribution

Share of 149 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good

57.7% (86)

Fair

34.2% (51)

Poor

8.1% (12)

Chelan County's Poor-condition bridges carry 71,315 vehicle crossings a day

That is 14.3% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 8.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 5,943 crossings a day against 2,618 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 149 of 149 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

50.3% of Chelan County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

75 of the 149 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 57.7% 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 36% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 2 over COLUMBIA RIVER, built 1975, carries 25,688 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 12-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 71,315 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

1900s

1
1920s

5
1930s

10
1940s

9
1950s

24
1960s

16
1970s

26
1980s

16
1990s

11
2000s

17
2010s

8
2020s

6

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 26 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 17.4% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1974) matches the Washington average (1975).

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

The 5 Washington counties nearest Chelan County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 8.1% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1974 against a peer-group mean of 1974 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 38 Washington counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Chelan County and the 5 Washington counties closest to it in inventory size
County	Bridges	Good	Fair	Poor	Avg. built
Okanogan County	161	46.6%	45.3%	8.1%	1972
Cowlitz County	160	46.3%	50%	3.8%	1974
Clallam County	151	56.3%	37.7%	6%	1979
Chelan County (this page)	149	57.7%	34.2%	8.1%	1974
Franklin County	134	56%	39.6%	4.5%	1970
Mason County	133	53.4%	42.1%	4.5%	1975

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside WA (149 bridges here).

Tallapoosa County, AL · 149 bridges
Drew County, AR · 149 bridges
Madison County, AR · 149 bridges
Walker County, GA · 149 bridges

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside WA (1974 here).

Knox County, TN · avg 1974 · 588 bridges
Summit County, OH · avg 1974 · 563 bridges
Onondaga County, NY · avg 1974 · 472 bridges
Orange County, NY · avg 1974 · 472 bridges

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

All 149 Good 86 Fair 51 Poor 12

All bridges (149)

Sort:

Chelan County Bridge Snapshot

Condition distribution

Chelan County's Poor-condition bridges carry 71,315 vehicle crossings a day

50.3% of Chelan County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

One structure carries 36% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

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

Nationwide counties with similar inventory size or average build year

Similar inventory size

Similar average build year

All bridges (149)

CO RD 29890

WHITE PINE CREEK

SR 285

Old Blewett Road

Old Blewett Pass

CHIWAWA LOOP ROAD

CO RD 45230

US 97ALT

NO DATA ENTERED

MOTTELER ROAD

GOODWIN ROAD

SEARS CREEK

COMPANY CREEK ROAD

ROAD

US 2

Colockum Creek Rd

US 2

NO DATA ENTERED

Stevens Road

SLEEPY HOLLOW ROAD

SUNSET HWY

US 2

US 97

RAINY CREEK

NO DATA ENTERED

S. Lakeshore Road

CO RD 47670

STEHEKIN VALLEY RO

North Road

KINGSBURY ROAD

Chiwawa River Road

EIGHT MILE CREEK

ROAD

US 2

US 2

US 2

MALAGA ALCOA HWY

ANGIER AVENUE

MILL CREEK

MAD RIVER ROAD

US 2

PESHASTIN MAIN ST

SR 285

MILLERDALE AVE

SR 207

CHIWAWA LOOP ROAD

US 2

US 2

APLETS WY

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