Total bridges
182
Public highway bridges in Preston County
County profile · official public datasets
Preston County, WV
182 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 35.2% rated Good, 41.8% Fair, 23.1% Poor.
- 182
- Public bridges
- 35.2%
- Good condition
- 23.1%
- Poor condition
The verdict
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory.
Preston County pairs a higher-than-median Poor-condition share among rated counties in the state with an older average build year than the state inventory.
- 38th
- of 55 on Poor share
- 23.1%
- Poor-condition share
- 182
- public highway bridges
- 1971
- 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.
Preston County Bridge Snapshot
According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Preston County ranks #38 of 55 West Virginia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 23.1%). Preston County, West Virginia contains 182 public highway bridges. Roughly 35.2% are rated “Good,” 41.8% “Fair,” and 23.1% “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.
Good condition
35.2%
64 of 182 rated 7-9
Fair condition
41.8%
76 of 182 rated 5-6
Poor condition
23.1%
42 of 182 rated 4 or below
In-state Poor-share rank
#38 of 55
Among West Virginia counties with 5+ bridges, lower share ranks better
Condition distribution
Share of 182 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.
Good 35.2% (64)
Fair 41.8% (76)
Poor 23.1% (42)
Preston County's Poor-condition bridges carry 47,920 vehicle crossings a day
That is 26.6% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 23.1% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry more traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 1,141 crossings a day against 421 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 182 of 182 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
48.4% of Preston County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark
88 of the 182 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 35.2% 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 13.7% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic
INTERSTATE 68 WB over Laurel Run & Co Rt 73/5, built 1970, carries 6,550 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 42-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.
Share is of the 47,920 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.
When Preston County's bridges were built
182 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade
- pre-1900 2
Built before 1900
2 bridges
- 1910s
1910–1919
12 bridges
- 1920s 6
1920–1929
6 bridges
- 1930s
1930–1939
23 bridges
- 1940s 10
1940–1949
10 bridges
- 1950s 10
1950–1959
10 bridges
- 1960s 6
1960–1969
6 bridges
- 1970s
1970–1979
23 bridges
- 1980s
1980–1989
22 bridges
- 1990s
1990–1999
27 bridges
- 2000s
2000–2009
29 bridges
- 2010s 11
2010–2019
11 bridges
- 2020s 1
2020–2029
1 bridges
What this shows Construction peaked in the 2000s, when 29 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 15.9% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 15 to 24 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1971, 9 years older than the West Virginia average of 1980.
How Preston County compares with West Virginia's closest counties by inventory size
The 5 West Virginia counties nearest Preston County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 23.1% Poor share is the 4th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1971 against a peer-group mean of 1979 is 8 years older.
Showing the 5 closest of 54 West Virginia counties eligible for comparison.
| County | Bridges | Good | Fair | Poor | Avg. built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County | 193 | 48.2% | 30.6% | 21.2% | 1977 |
| Jackson County | 191 | 38.2% | 38.2% | 23.6% | 1973 |
| Randolph County | 190 | 30.5% | 54.2% | 15.3% | 1989 |
| Preston County (this page) | 182 | 35.2% | 41.8% | 23.1% | 1971 |
| Wood County | 180 | 42.2% | 35.6% | 22.2% | 1980 |
| Mercer County | 174 | 2.3% | 72.4% | 25.3% | 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 Preston 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 Preston County, both outside West Virginia so the neighborhoods are not the same-state size table above.
Similar inventory size
Nearest county inventories outside WV (182 bridges here).
- Logan County, CO · 182 bridges
- Ida County, IA · 182 bridges
- Wright County, IA · 182 bridges
- Pulaski County, KY · 182 bridges
Similar average build year
Nearest mean year-built outside WV (1971 here).
- Wayne County, MI · avg 1971 · 1,026 bridges
- Baltimore County, MD · avg 1971 · 783 bridges
- Washington County, PA · avg 1971 · 655 bridges
- Linn County, OR · avg 1971 · 566 bridges
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release. Peers floor at 10 bridges so stub inventories cannot own the match.
Fair-condition bridges (76)
INTERSTATE 68
FairOver: BIG SANDY CREEK
0.14 MI WEST WV RT 26, Preston, WV
Built 1971 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 8,100
PRESTON CO RT 73/2
FairOver: PRESTON CO RT 73/2
0.15 MI SOUTH CO RT 73/73, Preston, WV
Built 1972 Load: 35.4 t ADT: 200
WV ROUTE 26
FairOver: Interstate 68
0.13 MI SOUTH CO RT 73/73, Preston, WV
Built 1972 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 3,600
PRESTON CO RT 8/3
FairOver: LITTLE SANDY CREEK
0.08 MI NORTH CO RT 8, Preston, WV
Built 1985 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 50
US ROUTE 50
FairOver: CHEAT RIVER
0.02 MI EAST CO RT 50/13, Preston, WV
Built 1932 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 800
INTERSTATE 68
FairOver: BIG SANDY CREEK
0.14 MI WEST WV RT 26, Preston, WV
Built 1971 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 8,100
PRESTON CO RT 3
FairOver: I-68
0.29 MI SOUTH WV RT 26, Preston, WV
Built 1973 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 350
PRESTON CO RT 5/13
FairOver: I-68
0.05 MI NORTH CO RT 5/20, Preston, WV
Built 1973 Load: 39.9 t ADT: 10
PRESTON CO RT 7/12
FairOver: DAUGHERTY RUN
0.02 MI NORTH PRE 45/3, Preston, WV
Built 2002 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 500
WV ROUTE 26
FairOver: CHEAT RIVER
0.07 MI SOUTH CO RT 7/12, Preston, WV
Built 1953 Load: 43.5 t ADT: 2,600
WV ROUTE 7
FairOver: Cheat River 7/26 72/10
0.03 MI EAST WV RT 72, Preston, WV
Built 1978 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 8,900
PRESTON CO RT 76
FairOver: LEFT FORK OF SANDY CREEK
0.05 MI WEST PRE CO 76/3, Preston, WV
Built 2004 Load: 45.4 t ADT: 50
PRE. CO. RT. 8
FairOver: MASON RUN
0.1 mi. N. of Pre. 8/1, Preston, WV
Built 2013 Load: 48.1 t ADT: 500
PRESTON CO RT 7/1
FairOver: DECKERS CREEK
0.30 MILE WEST OF WV 7, Preston, WV
Built 1987 Load: 50.8 t ADT: 50
PRESTON CO RT 51
FairOver: CHEAT RIVER
0.13 MI NORTH WV RT 72, Preston, WV
Built 1987 Load: 52.6 t ADT: 250
PRESTON CO RT 21
FairOver: BULL RUN
0.15 MI NORTH CO RT 21/4, Preston, WV
Built 1989 Load: 57.1 t ADT: 250
PRESTON CO RT 51
FairOver: SALTLICK CREEK
0.07 MI NORTH CO RT 106, Preston, WV
Built 1988 Load: 57.1 t ADT: 250
PRESTON CO RT 51
FairOver: SALTLICK CREEK
0.16 MI NORTH CO RT 51/5, Preston, WV
Built 1988 Load: 59.9 t ADT: 250
PRESTON CO RT 8
FairOver: GLADE RUN
0.36 MI NORTH CO RT 8/4, Preston, WV
Built 2002 Load: 61.7 t ADT: 850
PRESTON CO RT 33
FairOver: THREEFORK CREEK
0.14 MI SOUTH CO RT 35, Preston, WV
Built 1993 Load: 62.6 t ADT: 550
PRESTON CO RT 50/2
FairOver: LITTLE SANDY CREEK
0.07 MI SOUTH US ROUTE 50, Preston, WV
Built 1992 Load: 62.6 t ADT: 400
PRESTON CO RT 51/6
FairOver: SALTLICK CREEK
0.07 MI EAST CO RT 51, Preston, WV
Built 1989 Load: 65.3 t ADT: 10
PRESTON CO RT 72/3
FairOver: BUFFALO CREEK
0.01 MI EAST WV RT 72, Preston, WV
Built 1993 Load: 66.2 t ADT: 50
PRESTON CO RT 21/2
FairOver: BULL RUN
0.01 MI WEST CO RT 21, Preston, WV
Built 1989 Load: 68.0 t ADT: 100
PRESTON CO RT 28
FairOver: MUDDY CREEK
0.36 MI SOUTH CO RT 11/3, Preston, WV
Built 1990 Load: 75.3 t ADT: 50
INTERSTATE 68
FairOver: LITTLE SANDY CREEK
0.42 MI WEST CO RT 5, Preston, WV
Built 1973 Load: 88.9 t ADT: 10,400
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.