County profile · official public datasets

Whitman County, WA

347 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 52.2% rated Good, 44.4% Fair, 3.5% Poor.

347
Public bridges
52.2%
Good condition
3.5%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Whitman County posts a top-quartile lowest Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.

Top 21%
lowest Poor share in state
3.5%
Poor-condition share
347
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.

Whitman County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Whitman County ranks #8 of 39 Washington counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 3.5%). Whitman County, Washington contains 347 public highway bridges. Roughly 52.2% are rated “Good,” 44.4% “Fair,” and 3.5% “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

347

Public highway bridges in Whitman County

Good condition

52.2%

181 of 347 rated 7-9

Fair condition

44.4%

154 of 347 rated 5-6

Poor condition

3.5%

12 of 347 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#8 of 39

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

Condition distribution

Share of 347 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
52.2% (181)
Fair
44.4% (154)
Poor
3.5% (12)

Whitman County's Poor-condition bridges carry 34,980 vehicle crossings a day

That is 10.8% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 3.5% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 2,915 crossings a day against 766 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 347 of 347 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

47.6% of Whitman County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

165 of the 347 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 52.2% 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 27.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

US 195 over S FK PALOUSE RIVER, built 1923, carries 9,699 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 34,980 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Whitman County's bridges were built

347 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 95 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 27.4% 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).

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

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

The 5 Washington counties nearest Whitman County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 3.5% Poor share is the 2nd-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 Whitman County and the 5 Washington counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Grays Harbor County 363 9.4%
Whatcom County 354 5.4%
Whitman County (this page) 347 3.5%
Kittitas County 308 10.4%
Spokane County 307 6.8%
Grant County 306 2.6%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside WA (347 bridges here).

Similar average build year

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

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

All 347 Good 181 Fair 154 Poor 12

All bridges (347)

WHELAN/5515

Good

Over: MISSOURI FLAT CREEK

1.90 MI E SR 27, Whitman, WA

Built 2005 Load: 39.2 t ADT: 278

ALMOTA/8000

Good

Over: UNION FLAT CREEK

7.05 MI SW SR 195, Whitman, WA

Built 2000 Load: 39.5 t ADT: 501

SR 127

Good

Over: CAMAS PRAIRIE RR

0.5 N GARFIELD CO, Whitman, WA

Built 1969 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 845

PANDORA RD

Good

Over: US 195

1.7 N JCT SR 271, Whitman, WA

Built 1975 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 92

SR 27

Good

Over: HANGMAN CREEK

11.1 N JCT SR 271, Whitman, WA

Built 1979 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 563

SR 27

Good

Over: MCCOY CREEK

20.2 N JCT SR 272, Whitman, WA

Built 1996 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 783

PARVIN RD/5000

Good

Over: TRIB TO FOUR MILE CRK

12.27 MI W SR 195, Whitman, WA

Built 2009 Load: 41.1 t ADT: 52

SR 127

Good

Over: ALKALI FLAT CREEK

12.6 N GARFIELD CO, Whitman, WA

Built 1987 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 845

BIG ALKALI/7005

Good

Over: ALKALI FLAT CREEK

5.76 MI NE LITTLE GSE DAM, Whitman, WA

Built 2011 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 60

PITTMAN/0130

Good

Over: PINE CREEK

0.03 MI SW SEABURY, Whitman, WA

Built 1992 Load: 41.8 t ADT: 24

GARFLD-FRMGTN/1300

Good

Over: SILVER CREEK

9.67 MI SW FARMINGTON, Whitman, WA

Built 2008 Load: 42.4 t ADT: 238

SR 27

Good

Over: MCCOY CREEK

21.2 N JCT SR 272, Whitman, WA

Built 1964 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 1,176

SR 27

Good

Over: FOUR MILE CREEK

8.7 N JCT SR 270, Whitman, WA

Built 1990 Load: 43.7 t ADT: 2,811

JOHNSON/9050

Good

Over: STALEY CREEK

4.18 MI. SW SR 270, Whitman, WA

Built 2007 Load: 44.7 t ADT: 156

WHITE/1075

Good

Over: WILLOW CREEK

0.04 MI S WARNER, Whitman, WA

Built 2020 Load: 45.0 t ADT: 21

HOLE IN GRND/3300

Good

Over: PINE CREEK

1.05 MI SE BELSBY, Whitman, WA

Built 2008 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 25

SR 271

Good

Over: US 195

8.4 N JCT SR 27, Whitman, WA

Built 1975 Load: 47.2 t ADT: 1,098

STATE STREET

Good

Over: MISSOURI FLAT CREEK

0.07 N JCT SR 195, Whitman, WA

Built 1997 Load: 48.0 t ADT: 4,008

US 195

Good

Over: OLD RAILROAD GRADE

0.5 N JCT SR 23, Whitman, WA

Built 1958 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 4,027

ENDICOTT/4000

Good

Over: ROCK CREEK

1.89 MI E ADAMS CNTY LINE, Whitman, WA

Built 2000 Load: 52.5 t ADT: 554

SR 270

Good

Over: BN & UPRR SE Spring Str

0.3 E SR 270 COPULLMN, Whitman, WA

Built 1996 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 11,051

SR 27

Good

Over: PINE CREEK

4.1 N JCT SR 271, Whitman, WA

Built 2010 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 387

SAND/9060

Good

Over: SOUTH FORK PALOUSE RIVER

6.43MI NE JOHNSON, Whitman, WA

Built 2005 Load: 54.4 t ADT: 624

BLACK / 2300

Good

Over: KELLY CREEK

0.15 MI W SR 27, Whitman, WA

Built 2021 Load: 58.6 t ADT: 60

DUNCAN SPRING/8020

Good

Over: REBEL FLAT CREEK

0.12 MI W ALMOTA, Whitman, WA

Built 1996 Load: 59.6 t ADT: 267

SR 270

Good

Over: S FK PALOUSE

0.2 E SR 270 COPULLMN, Whitman, WA

Built 1996 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 11,051

WHITE/1075

Good

Over: WILLOW CREEK

0.05 MI W FARMINGTON, Whitman, WA

Built 1998 Load: 72.6 t ADT: 3

SR 27

Good

Over: N FK FOUR MILE CREEK

10.1 N JCT SR 270, Whitman, WA

Built 1983 Load: 76.1 t ADT: 2,811

DAVIS/4015

Good

Over: UNNAMED DRAINAGE

7.03 MI SW SR 23, Whitman, WA

Built 1999 Load: 82.3 t ADT: 3

MULKEY/4330

Good

Over: UNNAMED DRAINAGE

4.59 MI E ENDICTT-ST JOHN, Whitman, WA

Built 2010 Load: 89.1 t ADT: 60

SR 272

Good

Over: CLEAR CREEK

5.2 E JCT US 195, Whitman, WA

Built 1995 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 692

SR 127

Good

Over: ALKALI FLAT CR

17.1 N GARFIELD CO, Whitman, WA

Built 1966 Load: 89.8 t ADT: 785

FARMINGTON/1000

Good

Over: BRANCH WILLOW CREEK

5.43 MI S SR 27, Whitman, WA

Built 2000 Load: 92.0 t ADT: 461

ALMOTA/8000

Good

Over: REBEL FLAT CREEK

1.00 MI S DUNCAN SPRINGS, Whitman, WA

Built 1998 Load: 96.9 t ADT: 428

COLFAX AIRPRT/8010

Good

Over: REBEL FLAT CREEK

0.7 MI SE SR 26, Whitman, WA

Built 2013 Load: 96.9 t ADT: 1,179

CHERRY CREEK/4150

Poor

Over: COTTONWOOD CREEK

0.16 MI S SR 23, Whitman, WA

Built 1964 Load: 15.4 t ADT: 80

SR 26 SPUR

Poor

Over: PALOUSE RIVER

JCT US 195, Whitman, WA

Built 1938 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 3,213

SR 26

Poor

Over: PALOUSE RIVER

16.1 E JCT SR 127, Whitman, WA

Built 1937 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 3,142

US 195

Poor

Over: S FK PALOUSE RIVER

0.3 N JCT SR 272, Whitman, WA

Built 1923 Load: 18.5 t ADT: 9,699

US 195

Poor

Over: SPRING FLAT CREEK

12.4 N JCT SR 270, Whitman, WA

Built 1920 Load: 20.0 t ADT: 8,908

SR 23

Poor

Over: PLEASANT VALLEY CR

8.3 N JCT US 195, Whitman, WA

Built 1958 Load: 21.1 t ADT: 758

SR 23

Poor

Over: ROCK CREEK

23.2 N JCT US 195, Whitman, WA

Built 1946 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 262

SR 23

Poor

Over: IMBLER CREEK

27.7 N JCT US 195, Whitman, WA

Built 1946 Load: 29.5 t ADT: 262

US 195

Poor

Over: BN RY & OLD SR 195

3.5 N JCT SR 271, Whitman, WA

Built 1975 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 4,652

SR 26

Poor

Over: PCC RR

6.0 E ADAMS CO, Whitman, WA

Built 1967 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 1,825

SR 26

Poor

Over: WILLOW CREEK

9.3 E ADAMS CO, Whitman, WA

Built 1967 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 1,913

ALMOTA DOCKS RD

Poor

Over: ALMOTA CREEK

PORT OF ALMOTA, Whitman, WA

Built 1970 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 266

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.