Total bridges
174
Public highway bridges in Mercer County
County profile · official public datasets
Mercer County, WV
174 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 2.3% rated Good, 72.4% Fair, 25.3% Poor.
- 174
- Public bridges
- 2.3%
- Good condition
- 25.3%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Mercer County posts a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state across mid-size county bridge inventory.
- 45th
- of 55 on Poor share
- 25.3%
- Poor-condition share
- 174
- public highway bridges
- 1977
- 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.
Mercer County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Mercer County ranks #45 of 55 West Virginia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 25.3%). Mercer County, West Virginia contains 174 public highway bridges. Roughly 2.3% are rated “Good,” 72.4% “Fair,” and 25.3% “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.
Good condition
2.3%
4 of 174 rated 7-9
Fair condition
72.4%
126 of 174 rated 5-6
Poor condition
25.3%
44 of 174 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#45 of 55
Among West Virginia counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 174 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 2.3% (4)
Fair 72.4% (126)
Poor 25.3% (44)
Mercer County's Poor-condition bridges carry 87,210 vehicle crossings a day
That is 12.3% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 25.7% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,982 crossings a day against 5,249 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 171 of 174 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
35.6% of Mercer County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
62 of the 174 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 2.3% 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 21.6% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
US 19 over BRUSH CREEK, built 1977, carries 18,800 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 44-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 87,210 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Mercer County's bridges were built
174 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- 1920s 2
1920–1929
2 bridges
- 1930s
1930–1939
17 bridges
- 1940s
1940–1949
14 bridges
- 1950s 12
1950–1959
12 bridges
- 1960s 10
1960–1969
10 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
34 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
17 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
34 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
22 bridges
- 2010s 9
2010–2019
9 bridges
- 2020s 3
2020–2029
3 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 1970s, when 34 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 19.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 45 to 54 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year (1977) matches the West Virginia average (1980).
How Mercer County compares with West Virginia's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 West Virginia counties nearest Mercer County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 25.3% Poor share is the 5th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1977 against a peer-group mean of 1982 is 5 years older.
Showing the 5 closest of 54 West Virginia counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston County | 182 | 35.2% | 41.8% | 23.1% | 1971 |
| Wood County | 180 | 42.2% | 35.6% | 22.2% | 1980 |
| Mercer County (this page) | 174 | 2.3% | 72.4% | 25.3% | 1977 |
| Mingo County | 165 | 29.1% | 55.8% | 15.2% | 1992 |
| Wayne County | 163 | 20.9% | 60.7% | 18.4% | 1982 |
| Wyoming County | 160 | 3.1% | 63.8% | 33.1% | 1985 |
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 Mercer 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 Mercer County, both outside West Virginia so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside WV (174 bridges here).
- Hempstead County, AR · 174 bridges
- Eagle County, CO · 174 bridges
- Washington County, IN · 174 bridges
- Lac qui Parle County, MN · 174 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside WV (1977 here).
- San Diego County, CA · avg 1977 · 1,632 bridges
- King County, WA · avg 1977 · 1,238 bridges
- Riverside County, CA · avg 1977 · 1,117 bridges
- Shelby County, TN · avg 1977 · 1,077 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
All bridges (174)
COUNTY ROUTE 12/7
PoorOver: RICH CREEK
0.13 MI. N. CR. 71/12, Mercer, WV
Built 1976 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 30
COUNTY ROUTE 52/6
PoorOver: BLUESTONE RIVER
0.68 MI. E. OF WV. 102, Mercer, WV
Built 1934 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 300
WV. RTE. 20
PoorOver: C104/5 & NSRR & BRUSH CR
0.28 MI. S. OF CR. 44/10, Mercer, WV
Built 1947 Load: 28.1 t ADT: 7,500
COUNTY ROUTE 3
PoorOver: I77 NB Lanes
0.02 MI W OF CR 3/1, Mercer, WV
Built 1954 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 300
CR 11/7
PoorOver: SANDLICK CREEK
0.02 MI E OF WV 71, Mercer, WV
Built 1980 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 200
COUNTY ROUTE 2/1
PoorOver: N FORK OF ROCKHOUSE BR
0.37 MILE NORTH OF CO 2/5, Mercer, WV
Built 2010 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 20
CR 11
PoorOver: CRANE CREEK
0.05 MI N OF CR 13, Mercer, WV
Built 1940 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 250
COUNTY ROUTE 7
PoorOver: BRUSH CREEK
0.01 MI. W. OF CR 16, Mercer, WV
Built 1936 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 1,800
US 19
PoorOver: I 77
0.04 MI S OF CR 19/4, Mercer, WV
Built 1973 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 650
CR 3
PoorOver: I 77 SB & Ramp #3
0.03 MI E OF CR 3/8, Mercer, WV
Built 1977 Load: 33.6 t ADT: 350
COUTNY ROUTE 460/6
PoorOver: FIVEMILE CREEK
0.02 MI.E.OF WV 112, Mercer, WV
Built 1940 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 550
CR 30/3
PoorOver: EAST RIVER
1.10 MI E OF CR 30, Mercer, WV
Built 1996 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 10
CO 112/2
PoorOver: EAST RIVER
0.01 MI SOUTH OF WV 112, Mercer, WV
Built 1995 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 20
COUNTY ROUTE 112/1
PoorOver: EAST RIVER
0.01 MI SOUTH OF WV 112, Mercer, WV
Built 1995 Load: 39.0 t ADT: 20
COUNTY ROUTE 71/3
PoorOver: WIDEMOUTH CREEK
0.45 MI. N. OF WV. 71, Mercer, WV
Built 1982 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 100
Harp 903/46
PoorOver: Rich Creek
0.04 M. East Of 12/1, Mercer, WV
Built 2001 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 30
US 460 WB
PoorOver: CR.35 & Fivemile Creek
0.10 MI E OF WV 112, Mercer, WV
Built 1972 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 4,600
COUNTY ROUTE 27/3
PoorOver: NS RAILROAD
0.01 MILE E. OF CO. 27, Mercer, WV
Built 1997 Load: 44.4 t ADT: 3,400
CR. 25
PoorOver: NORFOLK & SOUTHERN RR
0.01 MI. N. OF US. 19, Mercer, WV
Built 1987 Load: 46.3 t ADT: 4,000
US 19
PoorOver: WV 112 NSRR & East Riv
0.34 MI S OF CR 25, Mercer, WV
Built 1974 Load: 46.3 t ADT: 7,950
US 19 (NB)
PoorOver: WV 112 NSRR & East Riv
0.06 MI. N. OF US 460, Mercer, WV
Built 1974 Load: 47.2 t ADT: 6,650
COUNTY ROUTE 52/37
PoorOver: BRUSH CREEK
0.01 MILE NORTH OF WV 123, Mercer, WV
Built 1997 Load: 49.0 t ADT: 50
CR 34/1
PoorOver: BRUSH CREEK
0.16 MI S OF US 460, Mercer, WV
Built 1988 Load: 62.6 t ADT: 500
US 19
PoorOver: BRUSH CREEK
0.01 MI. N. OF US. 460, Mercer, WV
Built 1977 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 18,800
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.