County profile · official public datasets

Fayette County, WV

211 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 19% rated Good, 67.8% Fair, 13.3% Poor.

211
Public bridges
19%
Good condition
13.3%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

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

Top 24%
lowest Poor share in state
13.3%
Poor-condition share
211
public highway bridges
1982
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.

Fayette County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Fayette County ranks #13 of 55 West Virginia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 13.3%). Fayette County, West Virginia contains 211 public highway bridges. Roughly 19% are rated “Good,” 67.8% “Fair,” and 13.3% “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

211

Public highway bridges in Fayette County

Good condition

19%

40 of 211 rated 7-9

Fair condition

67.8%

143 of 211 rated 5-6

Poor condition

13.3%

28 of 211 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#13 of 55

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

Condition distribution

Share of 211 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
19% (40)
Fair
67.8% (143)
Poor
13.3% (28)

Fayette County's Poor-condition bridges carry 41,448 vehicle crossings a day

That is 5.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 12.4% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,594 crossings a day against 569 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 209 of 211 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

28.4% of Fayette County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

60 of the 211 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 19% 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 21.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

WV 16 over US 19, built 1961, carries 8,979 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 28-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 41,448 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Fayette County's bridges were built

211 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1980s, when 44 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 20.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 35 to 44 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1982) matches the West Virginia average (1980).

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

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

The 5 West Virginia counties nearest Fayette County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 13.3% Poor share is the 2nd-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1982 against a peer-group mean of 1981 is in line with the group.

Showing the 5 closest of 54 West Virginia counties eligible for comparison.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Fayette County and the 5 West Virginia counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
McDowell County 225 31.6%
Raleigh County 224 24.6%
Fayette County (this page) 211 13.3%
Cabell County 207 17.4%
Greenbrier County 207 13%
Monongalia County 203 20.2%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside WV (211 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside WV (1982 here).

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

All 211 Good 40 Fair 143 Poor 28

Poor-condition bridges (28)

COUNTY ROUTE 19/31

Poor

Over: SCRABBLE CREEK

0.01 Miles N. of CR 19/8, Fayette, WV

Built 1920 Load: 0.0 t

COUNTY ROUTE 13

Poor

Over: CR 13/2 Kanawha R. CSX R

0.01 Miles S. of US 60, Fayette, WV

Built 1928 Load: 0.0 t

N0535

Poor

Over: DEMPSEY BRANCH

0.01 Miles E. of CR 8, Fayette, WV

Built 1970 Load: 2.7 t ADT: 12

COUNTY ROUTE 2

Poor

Over: SMITHERS CREEK

0.07 Miles N. of CR 2/13, Fayette, WV

Built 1976 Load: 5.4 t ADT: 1,500

STADIUM DRIVE

Poor

Over: SUGAR CREEK

0.06 Miles N. of WV 211, Fayette, WV

Built 1960 Load: 5.4 t ADT: 100

COUNTY ROUTE 15

Poor

Over: PAINT CREEK

2.61 Miles N. of CR 15/9, Fayette, WV

Built 1922 Load: 6.3 t ADT: 44

COUNTY ROUTE 19/33

Poor

Over: GLADE CREEK

0.50 Miles W. of WV 41, Fayette, WV

Built 1940 Load: 9.1 t ADT: 22

CR 25/2 & RJC RR

Poor

Over: NEW RIVER

0.10 Miles E. of CR 25, Fayette, WV

Built 1916 Load: 10.9 t ADT: 225

COUNTY ROUTE 2

Poor

Over: SMITHERS CREEK

0.02 Miles N. of CR 2/15, Fayette, WV

Built 1976 Load: 13.6 t ADT: 3,900

COUNTY ROUTE 61/24

Poor

Over: ARMSTRONG CREEK

0.01 Miles N. of CR 6/1, Fayette, WV

Built 1976 Load: 13.6 t ADT: 1,200

WV 41

Poor

Over: CHESTNUT KNOB FORK

0.23 Miles N. of CR 22/5, Fayette, WV

Built 1950 Load: 14.5 t ADT: 633

COUNTY ROUTE 15

Poor

Over: PAINT CREEK

0.52 Miles N. of CR 15/9, Fayette, WV

Built 1925 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 40

COUNTY ROUTE 85/13

Poor

Over: KEENEY CREEK

0.01 Miles S. of CR 85/2, Fayette, WV

Built 1976 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 30

COUNTY ROUTE 2

Poor

Over: BULL PUSH CREEK

0.03 Miles N. of CR 2/3, Fayette, WV

Built 1976 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 4,323

COUNTY ROUTE 60/15

Poor

Over: BRACKENS CREEK

0.38 Miles N. of US 60, Fayette, WV

Built 1967 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 20

WV 41

Poor

Over: FLOYD CREEK

0.08 Miles S. of CR 11, Fayette, WV

Built 1928 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 752

COUNTY ROUTE 3/3

Poor

Over: LAUREL CREEK

0.15 Miles S. of CR 3/5, Fayette, WV

Built 1976 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 50

COUNTY ROUTE 15

Poor

Over: PAINT CREEK

1.40 Miles W. of CR 15/9, Fayette, WV

Built 1963 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 43

WV 61

Poor

Over: ARMSTRONG CREEK

0.04 Miles S. of CR 61/24, Fayette, WV

Built 1966 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 2,200

WV 16

Poor

Over: BIG CREEK

0.01 Miles N. of CR 19/9, Fayette, WV

Built 1938 Load: 32.7 t ADT: 2,200

WV 16

Poor

Over: US 19 NBL & SBL

0.20 Miles S. of CR 17, Fayette, WV

Built 1960 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 7,391

HARP ROUTE 969

Poor

Over: LOOP CREEK

0.01 Miles W. of WV 61, Fayette, WV

Built 1965 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 10

US 60 EBL

Poor

Over: US 19 NBL & SBL

0.24 Miles E. of CR 4, Fayette, WV

Built 1970 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 3,300

US 60 WBL

Poor

Over: US 19

0.24 Miles E. of CR 4, Fayette, WV

Built 1970 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 3,465

COUNTY ROUTE 60/3

Poor

Over: RICH CREEK

2.45 Miles S. of CR 60/21, Fayette, WV

Built 1989 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 379

WV 16

Poor

Over: US 19

0.54 Miles N. of CR 19/25, Fayette, WV

Built 1961 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 8,979

WV 41

Poor

Over: BRACKENS CREEK

0.24 Miles S. of CR 41/3, Fayette, WV

Built 1950 Load: 63.5 t ADT: 597

County Route 82/5

Poor

Over: KEENY CREEK

0.01 Miles N.of CR 82, Fayette, WV

Built 2016 Load: 66.2 t ADT: 33

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.