County profile · official public datasets

Ritchie County, WV

127 public highway bridges tracked in the FHWA National Bridge Inventory: 33.9% rated Good, 39.4% Fair, 26.8% Poor.

127
Public bridges
33.9%
Good condition
26.8%
Poor condition

The verdict

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

Ritchie 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.

50th
of 55 on Poor share
26.8%
Poor-condition share
127
public highway bridges
1967
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.

Ritchie County Bridge Snapshot

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, Ritchie County ranks #50 of 55 West Virginia counties with at least 5 public highway bridges on Poor-condition share (lower share ranks better; currently 26.8%). Ritchie County, West Virginia contains 127 public highway bridges. Roughly 33.9% are rated “Good,” 39.4% “Fair,” and 26.8% “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

127

Public highway bridges in Ritchie County

Good condition

33.9%

43 of 127 rated 7-9

Fair condition

39.4%

50 of 127 rated 5-6

Poor condition

26.8%

34 of 127 rated 4 or below

In-state Poor-share rank

#50 of 55

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

Condition distribution

Share of 127 NBI-tracked bridges by lowest applicable component rating.

Good
33.9% (43)
Fair
39.4% (50)
Poor
26.8% (34)

Ritchie County's Poor-condition bridges carry 10,129 vehicle crossings a day

That is 8.4% of the county's reported daily bridge traffic on 26.8% of its bridges: Poor-condition structures carry less traffic than their share of the inventory. Each Poor bridge averages 298 crossings a day against 888 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 127 of 127 bridges in this county that report an average daily traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

51.2% of Ritchie County's bridges have passed the 50-year mark

65 of the 127 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 33.9% 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 11.8% of the county's Poor-condition bridge traffic

WEST VIRGINIA 16 over WIGNER RUN, built 1926, carries 1,200 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 34-bridge count understates how much of the daily burden sits on a single crossing.

Share is of the 10,129 daily crossings on Poor-rated bridges that report a traffic count. Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2024 release.

When Ritchie County's bridges were built

127 bridges with a recorded construction year, grouped by decade

bridges

What this shows Construction peaked in the 1990s, when 21 of the county's bridges still in the inventory were built, which is 16.5% of those with a recorded year. That cohort is now 25 to 34 years old in the 2024 inventory. Its average build year is 1967, 13 years older than the West Virginia average of 1980.

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

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

The 5 West Virginia counties nearest Ritchie County in number of bridges, with their condition splits. Its 26.8% Poor share is the 6th-lowest of these 6. Its average build year of 1967 against a peer-group mean of 1983 is 16 years older.

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

Bridge inventory size and condition shares for Ritchie County and the 5 West Virginia counties closest to it in inventory size
County Bridges Poor
Putnam County 135 15.6%
Boone County 131 16%
Hardy County 131 8.4%
Roane County 130 26.2%
Ritchie County (this page) 127 26.8%
Berkeley County 119 5%

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

Similar inventory size

Nearest county inventories outside WV (127 bridges here).

Similar average build year

Nearest mean year-built outside WV (1967 here).

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

All 127 Good 43 Fair 50 Poor 34

Poor-condition bridges (34)

COUNTY ROUTE 28/8

Poor

Over: SOUTH FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.01 M NORTH OF CR 47/11, Ritchie, WV

Built 1907 Load: 0.0 t ADT: 10

CR 16/34

Poor

Over: LEATHERBARK CREEK

0.08 MI S OF CR 16/19, Ritchie, WV

Built 1912 Load: 3.6 t ADT: 40

COUNTY ROUTE 11/3

Poor

Over: MYERS FORK OF GOOSE CRK

0.01 MILE WEST OF CR 18/4, Ritchie, WV

Built 1979 Load: 3.6 t ADT: 10

COUNTY ROUTE 7/18

Poor

Over: MIDDLE FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.02 M SOUTH OF CR 22/3, Ritchie, WV

Built 1898 Load: 9.1 t ADT: 40

COUNTY ROUTE 7/11

Poor

Over: SLAB CREEK

0.08 M NORTH OF CR 7/12, Ritchie, WV

Built 1909 Load: 10.9 t ADT: 10

COUNTY ROUTE 17/8

Poor

Over: INDIAN CREEK

0.02 MI. E. OF CR. 17, Ritchie, WV

Built 1916 Load: 10.9 t ADT: 10

CR 31/6

Poor

Over: ADDIS RUN

0.01 MI. S. OF WV 31, Ritchie, WV

Built 1912 Load: 11.8 t ADT: 30

COUNTY ROUTE 74/9

Poor

Over: NORTH FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.37 MI. W. OF CR 50/24, Ritchie, WV

Built 1914 Load: 11.8 t ADT: 150

CR 6/4

Poor

Over: BONDS CREEK

0.04 MI S OF CR 6, Ritchie, WV

Built 1913 Load: 14.5 t ADT: 20

CR 74/9

Poor

Over: BUCK RUN

0.68 MI. E. OF CR 50/24, Ritchie, WV

Built 1924 Load: 14.5 t ADT: 150

COUNTY ROUTE 50/34

Poor

Over: GOOSE CREEK

0.35 M WEST OF CR 50/27, Ritchie, WV

Built 1931 Load: 16.3 t ADT: 250

COUNTY ROUTE 19

Poor

Over: BRANCH OF LONG RUN

0.56 MILE WEST OF CR 28, Ritchie, WV

Built 1924 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 250

COUNTY ROUTE 19

Poor

Over: LAUREL FK OF SPRUCE CK

0.01 M WEST OF 19/7, Ritchie, WV

Built 1930 Load: 18.1 t ADT: 150

COUNTY ROUTE 3

Poor

Over: MEADOW RUN

0.15 MILE SOUTH OF CR 3/2, Ritchie, WV

Built 1940 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 150

COUNTY ROUTE 24

Poor

Over: CHEVAUX DE FRISE RUN

0.01 M WEST OF CR 24/6, Ritchie, WV

Built 1955 Load: 21.8 t ADT: 200

COUNTY ROUTE 15

Poor

Over: NORTH FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.05 M WEST OF WV 31, Ritchie, WV

Built 1949 Load: 22.7 t ADT: 150

COUNTY ROUTE 34/2

Poor

Over: LEFT FORK SPRUCE CREEK

0.04 MILE EAST OF CR 34, Ritchie, WV

Built 1978 Load: 23.6 t ADT: 30

WEST VIRGINIA 47

Poor

Over: NORTH FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.84 MILE EAST OF CR 15, Ritchie, WV

Built 1931 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 650

CO RT 50/40

Poor

Over: SUGAR RUN

0.10 MI W OF CR 10, Ritchie, WV

Built 1948 Load: 24.5 t ADT: 550

WEST VIRGINIA 16

Poor

Over: WIGNER RUN

0.02 MILE SOUTH OF CR 28, Ritchie, WV

Built 1926 Load: 25.4 t ADT: 1,200

WEST VIRGINIA 31

Poor

Over: BIG RUN

0.04 M SOUTH OF CR 31/11, Ritchie, WV

Built 1940 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 700

WEST VIRGINIA 74

Poor

Over: NORTH FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.05 M SOUTH OF CR 7/2, Ritchie, WV

Built 1952 Load: 28.1 t ADT: 750

WEST VIRGINIA 16

Poor

Over: INDIAN CREEK

0.41 M NORTH OF CR 24, Ritchie, WV

Built 1962 Load: 28.1 t ADT: 1,100

WEST VIRGINIA 47

Poor

Over: MACFARLAN CREEK

0.04 MILE EAST OF CR 30, Ritchie, WV

Built 1930 Load: 28.1 t ADT: 650

WEST VIRGINIA 16

Poor

Over: SOUTH FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.08 MILE NORTH OF WV 47, Ritchie, WV

Built 1962 Load: 29.9 t ADT: 650

PARK & FOREST 807

Poor

Over: NORTH FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.01 M NORTH OF P&F 801, Ritchie, WV

Built 1975 Load: 30.8 t ADT: 24

CR 7/12

Poor

Over: SLAB CREEK

0.01 MI W OF CR 28/2, Ritchie, WV

Built 1960 Load: 34.5 t ADT: 10

COUNTY ROUTE 8

Poor

Over: BIG RUN

0.02 MILE WEST WV 31, Ritchie, WV

Built 1990 Load: 38.1 t ADT: 10

WV 74

Poor

Over: SOUTH FORK HUGHES RIVER

0.01 MI. SOUTH CR 7/13, Ritchie, WV

Built 1990 Load: 40.8 t ADT: 400

WEST VIRGINIA 74

Poor

Over: LEFT FORK BONE CREEK

0.10 M SOUTH OF CR 7/20, Ritchie, WV

Built 1940 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 200

OSBORN ST. AUBURN

Poor

Over: RIGHT FORK BONE CREEK

0.01 MILE SOUTH OF WV 74, Ritchie, WV

Built 2003 Load: 41.7 t ADT: 5

WEST VIRGINIA 16

Poor

Over: INDIAN CREEK

0.02 MILE SOUTH CR 17, Ritchie, WV

Built 1963 Load: 49.0 t ADT: 1,100

COUNTY ROUTE 10

Poor

Over: SUGAR RUN

0.26 MILE W OF CR 50/40, Ritchie, WV

Built 1997 Load: 51.7 t ADT: 450

COUNTY ROUTE 50/67

Poor

Over: BUNNELL RUN

0.20 MI EAST OF CR 50/21, Ritchie, WV

Built 2002 Load: 53.5 t ADT: 30

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.