Total bridges
195
Public highway bridges in Walla Walla County
County profile · official public datasets
Walla Walla County, WA
195 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 64.1% rated Good, 27.2% Fair, 8.7% Poor.
- 195
- Public bridges
- 64.1%
- Good condition
- 8.7%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Walla Walla County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with a newer average build year than the state inventory.
- 30th
- of 39 on Poor share
- 8.7%
- Poor-condition share
- 195
- public highway bridges
- 1980
- 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.
Walla Walla County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Walla Walla County ranks #30 of 39 Washington counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 8.7%). Walla Walla County, Washington contains 195 public highway bridges. Roughly 64.1% are rated “Good,” 27.2% “Fair,” and 8.7% “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.
Good condition
64.1%
125 of 195 rated 7-9
Fair condition
27.2%
53 of 195 rated 5-6
Poor condition
8.7%
17 of 195 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#30 of 39
Among Washington counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 195 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 64.1% (125)
Fair 27.2% (53)
Poor 8.7% (17)
Walla Walla County's Poor-condition bridges carry 21,238 vehicle crossings a day
That is 4.5% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 8.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,249 crossings a day against 2,172 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 195 of 195 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
36.9% of Walla Walla County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
72 of the 195 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 64.1% 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 36.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
US 12 over NINE MILE CR & RR, built 1933, carries 7,778 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 17-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 21,238 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Walla Walla County's bridges were built
195 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1900s 3
1900–1909
3 bridges
- 1910s 10
1910–1919
10 bridges
- 1920s
1920–1929
17 bridges
- 1930s 4
1930–1939
4 bridges
- 1940s 1
1940–1949
1 bridges
- 1950s 10
1950–1959
10 bridges
- 1960s
1960–1969
14 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
22 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
19 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
32 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
29 bridges
- 2010s
2010–2019
17 bridges
- 2020s
2020–2029
17 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 32 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 16.4% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1980, 5 years newer than the Washington average of 1975.
How Walla Walla County compares with Washington's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 Washington counties nearest Walla Walla County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 8.7% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1980 against a peer-group mean of 1972 is 8 years newer.
Showing the 5 closest of 38 Washington counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark County | 218 | 55% | 40.8% | 4.1% | 1979 |
| Thurston County | 205 | 59.5% | 39.5% | 1% | 1979 |
| Walla Walla County (this page) | 195 | 64.1% | 27.2% | 8.7% | 1980 |
| Adams County | 187 | 35.3% | 54.5% | 10.2% | 1961 |
| Lincoln County | 180 | 56.7% | 37.2% | 6.1% | 1965 |
| Benton County | 167 | 58.7% | 35.9% | 5.4% | 1977 |
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 Walla Walla 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 Walla Walla County, both outside Washington so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside WA (195 bridges here).
- Otero County, CO · 195 bridges
- Lucas County, IA · 195 bridges
- LaSalle County, LA · 195 bridges
- Sabine County, LA · 195 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside WA (1980 here).
- Tulsa County, OK · avg 1980 · 1,135 bridges
- Miami-Dade County, FL · avg 1980 · 1,057 bridges
- Pulaski County, AR · avg 1980 · 721 bridges
- McLennan County, TX · avg 1980 · 714 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Good-condition bridges (125)
SCHOOL AVENUE
GoodOver: RUSSELL CREEK
00.276 N RESER RD, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1995 Load: 47.6 t ADT: 1,220
SOUTH FORK COPPEI
GoodOver: SOUTH FORK COPPEI CREEK
00.1 E OF WALKER RD, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1997 Load: 47.6 t ADT: 61
SOUTH FORK COPPEI
GoodOver: NORTH FORK COPPEI CREEK
0.008 W COPPEI RD, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1997 Load: 50.2 t ADT: 71
MILL CREEK RD
GoodOver: BLUE CREEK
0.05 S OF BLUE CREEK RD, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2019 Load: 50.5 t ADT: 843
SR 124
GoodOver: COUNTY RD
27.5 E JCT US 12, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1962 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 1,471
US 12
GoodOver: MYRA RD
27.7 E JCT US 730 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2009 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 2,287
US 12
GoodOver: MYRA RD
27.7 E JCT US 730 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2009 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 2,287
SR 124
GoodOver: COPPEI CREEK
9.3 E JCT SR 125, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1994 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 1,478
US 12
GoodOver: RR & PRIVATE ROAD
8.7 E JCT SR 124, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2007 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 5,806
MCKAY GRADE RD
GoodOver: SOUTH FORK RUSSELL CREEK
0.02E SF RUSSELL CR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1996 Load: 54.8 t ADT: 25
NORTH FORK COPPEI
GoodOver: NORTH FORK COPPEI CREEK
3.242 SE COPPEI RD, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1997 Load: 54.8 t ADT: 22
US 12
GoodOver: DRY CREEK
9.2 E JCT SR 125 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2003 Load: 55.3 t ADT: 4,414
US 12
GoodOver: COPPEI CREEK
21.3 E JCT SR 125 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2005 Load: 55.3 t ADT: 3,450
US 12
GoodOver: NINE MILE HILL ROAD
10.3 E JCT US 730 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2023 Load: 56.4 t ADT: 3,889
US 12
GoodOver: NINE MILE HILL ROAD
10.3 E JCT US 730 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2023 Load: 56.4 t ADT: 3,889
NORTH FORK COPPEI
GoodOver: NORTH FORK COPPEI CREEK
3.405 SE COPPEI RD, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1997 Load: 57.3 t ADT: 22
US 12
GoodOver: MCNARY POOL
4.4 E JCT SR 124, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2004 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 14,240
NORTH FORK COPPEI
GoodOver: NORTH FORK COPPEI CREEK
3.872 SE COPPEI RD, Walla Walla, WA
Built 1997 Load: 59.0 t ADT: 22
US 12
GoodOver: FRENCHTOWN ACCESS RD
19.3 E JCT US 730 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2023 Load: 63.2 t ADT: 4,011
WOODEN RD
GoodOver: WALKER CANYON
2.223 W LWR MONUMENTAL, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2001 Load: 63.8 t ADT: 32
US 12
GoodOver: FRENCHTOWN ACCESS RD
19.3 E JCT US 730 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2023 Load: 64.5 t ADT: 4,011
MILL CREEK RD
GoodOver: MILL CREEK
8.35 SE ISAACS AVE, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2019 Load: 65.1 t ADT: 380
US 12
GoodOver: TOUCHET NORTH RD
12.0 E JCT US 730 SPUR, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2022 Load: 65.8 t ADT: 7,642
PETTYBONE ST N
GoodOver: UPPER DRY CREEK
0.05 N SR 12, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2014 Load: 84.2 t ADT: 300
BARNEY RD
GoodOver: MUDD CREEK
1.3 W OF LOWDEN RD, Walla Walla, WA
Built 2017 Load: 96.9 t ADT: 90
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
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.