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.

Total bridges

182

Public highway bridges in Preston County

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

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.

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

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.

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Preston County and the 5 West Virginia counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Marion County 193 21.2%
Jackson County 191 23.6%
Randolph County 190 15.3%
Preston County (this page) 182 23.1%
Wood County 180 22.2%
Mercer County 174 25.3%

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).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside WV (1971 here).

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

All 182 Good 64 Fair 76 Poor 42

Poor-condition bridges (42)

PRESTON CO RT 14

Poor

Over: BIG SANDY CREEK

0.66 MI SOUTH CO RT 14/1, Preston, WV

Built 1893 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 10

PRESTON CO RT 8/4

Poor

Over: BIG SANDY CREEK

0.17 MI NORTH CO RT 8, Preston, WV

Built 1884 Load: 2.7 t ADT: 10

PRESTON CO RT 33/5

Poor

Over: FIELDS CREEK

0.45 MI SOUTH CO RT 29, Preston, WV

Built 1952 Load: 6.3 t ADT: 10

PRESTON CO RT 110

Poor

Over: LITTLE WOLF CREEK

0.95 MI EAST US ROUTE 50, Preston, WV

Built 1961 Load: 7.3 t ADT: 50

PRESTON CO RT 51/9

Poor

Over: WOLF RUN

0.70 MI EAST CO RT 51, Preston, WV

Built 1950 Load: 7.3 t ADT: 10

PRESTON CO RT 14/4

Poor

Over: CHEAT RIVER

2.10 MI EAST CO RT 21, Preston, WV

Built 1912 Load: 8.2 t ADT: 10

PRESTON CO RT 27/3

Poor

Over: DECKERS CREEK

0.35 MI EAST CO RT 27/2, Preston, WV

Built 1979 Load: 10.0 t ADT: 90

PRESTON CO RT 33/3

Poor

Over: BRAINS CREEK

0.07 MI SOUTH CO RT 33, Preston, WV

Built 1918 Load: 11.8 t ADT: 250

WV ROUTE 26

Poor

Over: ROARING CREEK

0.03 MI SOUTH CO RT 22, Preston, WV

Built 1919 Load: 12.7 t ADT: 2,900

PRESTON CO RT 33

Poor

Over: RACCOON CREEK

0.04 MI SOUTH CO RT 37, Preston, WV

Built 1920 Load: 12.7 t ADT: 750

WV ROUTE 72

Poor

Over: PRINGLE RUN

2.19 MI SOUTH ALT RT 72, Preston, WV

Built 1936 Load: 14.5 t ADT: 950

PRESTON CO RT 31

Poor

Over: RACCOON CREEK

0.10 MI SOUTH CO RT 33/12, Preston, WV

Built 1930 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 50

WV 26

Poor

Over: Morgan Run

0.02 mi N of Pre Co 26/72, Preston, WV

Built 1936 Load: 17.2 t ADT: 3,500

PRESTON CO RT 21

Poor

Over: LICK RUN

0.06 MI NORTH CO RT 21/4, Preston, WV

Built 1936 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 250

PRESTON CO RT 29

Poor

Over: BOYD RUN

0.04 MI WEST CO RT 29/2, Preston, WV

Built 1937 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 4,100

PRESTON CO RT 39

Poor

Over: RACCOON CREEK

0.88 MI EAST CO RT 39/2, Preston, WV

Built 1939 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 250

PRESTON CO RT 39

Poor

Over: RACCOON CREEK

0.73 MI EAST CO RT 39/2, Preston, WV

Built 1940 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 250

PRESTON CO RT 39

Poor

Over: RACCOON CREEK

0.03 MI WEST CO RT 64/1, Preston, WV

Built 1939 Load: 19.0 t ADT: 250

PRESTON CO RT 3

Poor

Over: ROARING CREEK

0.05 MI NORTH CO RT 28, Preston, WV

Built 1952 Load: 20.0 t ADT: 350

PRESTON CO RT 3

Poor

Over: LICK RUN

0.04 MI SOUTH PRE CO 22, Preston, WV

Built 1952 Load: 20.0 t ADT: 350

PRES CO RT 50/28

Poor

Over: LITTLE SANDY CREEK

0.01 MI SOUTH US ROUTE 50, Preston, WV

Built 1973 Load: 20.9 t ADT: 50

PRESTON CR 50/24

Poor

Over: LITTLE SANDY CREEK

0.01 MI SOUTH US RT 50, Preston, WV

Built 1978 Load: 20.9 t ADT: 10

PRESTON CO RT 3/12

Poor

Over: DAUGHERTY RUN

0.19 MI WEST CO RT 7/33, Preston, WV

Built 1960 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 10

PRESTON CR 26/32

Poor

Over: BIRDS CREEK

0.03 MI WEST CO RT 41/1, Preston, WV

Built 1939 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 1,100

PRESTON CO RT 28

Poor

Over: MUDDY CREEK

0.19 MI NORTH CO RT 3/8, Preston, WV

Built 1918 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 50

PRESTON CO RT 33

Poor

Over: COOKS RUN

0.21 MI SOUTH CO RT 37, Preston, WV

Built 1939 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 250

PRESTON CO RT 39

Poor

Over: RACCOON CREEK

0.27 MI WEST CO RT 39/2, Preston, WV

Built 1940 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 250

WV ROUTE 92

Poor

Over: BIRDS CREEK

0.04 MI NORTH CO RT 26/32, Preston, WV

Built 1940 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 2,800

PRESTON CO RT 12

Poor

Over: MILL RUN

0.01 MI EAST CO RT 5/18, Preston, WV

Built 1965 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 450

PRE CO RT 92/13

Poor

Over: LITTLE SANDY CREEK

0.02 MI S OF CR 92/16, Preston, WV

Built 1981 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 10

WV ROUTE 7

Poor

Over: RAVINE

0.57 MI WEST PRES CR 19, Preston, WV

Built 1926 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 5,700

WV ROUTE 92

Poor

Over: SQUIRES RUN

0.09 MI NORTH CO RT 35, Preston, WV

Built 1940 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 2,900

US ROUTE 50

Poor

Over: WOLF CREEK

0.10 MI WEST CO RT 110, Preston, WV

Built 1935 Load: 27.2 t ADT: 800

WV ROUTE 92

Poor

Over: BIRDS CREEK

0.26 MI SOUTH CO RT 58, Preston, WV

Built 1940 Load: 29.0 t ADT: 2,700

INTERSTATE 68 WB

Poor

Over: Laurel Run & Co Rt 73/5

3.19 MI EAST CO RT 73/12, Preston, WV

Built 1970 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 6,550

INTERSTATE 68 EB

Poor

Over: Laurel Run & Co Rt 73/5

3.19 MI EAST CO RT 73/12, Preston, WV

Built 1970 Load: 31.7 t ADT: 6,550

PRESTON CO RT 14

Poor

Over: SOVERN RUN

0.74 MI NORTH CO RT 14/3, Preston, WV

Built 1996 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 10

PRESTON CO 73/12

Poor

Over: I-68

0.05 MI SOUTH CO RT 73/73, Preston, WV

Built 1972 Load: 37.2 t ADT: 350

PRESTON CO RT 27

Poor

Over: DECKERS CREEK

0.63 MI EAST CO RT 27/2, Preston, WV

Built 1967 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 1,900

PRESTON CO RT 5

Poor

Over: I-68

0.17 MI SOUTH CO RT 5/7, Preston, WV

Built 1973 Load: 42.6 t ADT: 500

PRESTON CO 26/23

Poor

Over: MUDDY CREEK

0.15 MILES NORTH WV RT 26, Preston, WV

Built 2000 Load: 49.9 t ADT: 90

PRESTON CO RT 7/12

Poor

Over: ELSEY RUN

0.01 MI NORTH CO RT 7/16, Preston, WV

Built 1997 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 500

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

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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.