State profile · Below median Poor share

District of Columbia bridge safety

According to the Federal Highway Administration's 2024 National Bridge Inventory, condition ratings, load ratings, and Poor-condition shares for every public highway bridge in District of Columbia.

257
Public bridges
34.6%
Good condition
1.9%
Poor condition

District of Columbia holds 257 public highway bridges (#52 of 52 by inventory) with a 1.95% Poor share (#47 of 52 by Poor share).

That is 1.9% of the state's inventory, against an average of 7.5% across the 54 states and territories with Poor-rated bridges on file, which places it 6 of 54 ordered from the lowest Poor share upward. A bridge is rated Poor when its weakest applicable component scores 4 or below on the inspecting agency's 0-9 scale, so the category is a maintenance and funding signal rather than a closure order or a live crossing-safety verdict.

Inventory: FHWA NBI 2024 · last ETL August 2026

Total Bridges

257

Public highway bridges in District of Columbia

Good Condition

34.6%

89 bridges rated 7-9

-15.4pp vs 50% benchmark

Poor Condition

1.9%

5 bridges whose lowest applicable component is rated 0-4

-5.6pp vs national avg 7.5%

District of Columbia vs national bridge condition

District of Columbia - Good condition share 34.6%
National avg

Share of bridges rated 7-9 on the FHWA 0-9 scale (deck, superstructure, substructure all good).

District of Columbia - Poor-condition share 6.5%
National avg

Lower is better. Bar maxes at 30% (worst-state ceiling). National average sits at 7.5%.

District of Columbia in the national condition pattern

Each point is a state or territory in the FHWA NBI; the highlighted point is this profile.

Inventory size and Poor-condition share are different measures: District of Columbia has 257 bridges and a 1.9% Poor-condition share in the 2024 NBI, rank #6 of 54 jurisdictions ordered from the lowest share upward. The dashed comparisons mark the national average state rate and the midpoint of the plotted inventory range; neither is a live safety or closure threshold. Scatter plot of 54 data points. 0%10%20%30%40% 0k20k40k60k Public bridges in inventory (thousands) Poor-condition share (%) DC, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.95%AL, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 16.2k · Poor-condition share (%): 3.35%AK, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 1.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.89%AZ, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 8.6k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.15%AR, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 13k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.43%CA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 25.8k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.91%CO, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 9k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.82%CT, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 4.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.72%DE, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.26%FL, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 13k · Poor-condition share (%): 2.79%GA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 15.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.59%GU, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0k · Poor-condition share (%): 12.77%HI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 1.2k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.53%ID, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 4.6k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.9%IL, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 26.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 9.35%IN, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 19.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.22%IA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 23.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 19.16%KS, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 24.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.26%KY, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 14.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.37%LA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 12.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 11.48%ME, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 15.41%MD, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.56%MA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 8.88%MI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 11.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 11.27%MN, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 13.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.44%MS, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 16.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.03%MO, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 24.6k · Poor-condition share (%): 8.95%MT, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.2k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.81%NE, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 15.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.9%NV, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.14%NH, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.51%NJ, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 6.8k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.01%NM, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 4k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.51%NY, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 17.6k · Poor-condition share (%): 9.43%NC, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 19.2k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.76%ND, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 4.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 10.98%OH, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 26.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.74%OK, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 22.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 7.7%OR, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 8.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.61%PA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 23.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 12.58%PR, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 13.92%RI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0.8k · Poor-condition share (%): 15.2%SC, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 9.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.17%SD, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 5.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 16.36%TN, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 20.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 4.41%TX, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 56.7k · Poor-condition share (%): 1.23%UT, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 3.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 2.91%VT, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 2.9k · Poor-condition share (%): 2.9%VI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 0k · Poor-condition share (%): 29.17%VA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 14.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 3.39%WA, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 8.5k · Poor-condition share (%): 5.45%WV, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 7.3k · Poor-condition share (%): 18.64%WI, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 14.4k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.52%WY, Public bridges in inventory (thousands): 3.1k · Poor-condition share (%): 6.51%
Inventory size and Poor-condition share are different measures: District of Columbia has 257 bridges and a 1.9% Poor-condition share in the 2024 NBI, rank #6 of 54 jurisdictions ordered from the lowest share upward. The dashed comparisons mark the national average state rate and the midpoint of the plotted inventory range; neither is a live safety or closure threshold.

District of Columbia vs all states by public bridge inventory

Where this state's FHWA NBI public-highway bridge count sits among every state and territory on PlainBridges

257 52nd of 54 higher than 2 of 54 states

States and territories, banded by public bridge inventory size

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source FHWA National Bridge Inventory · 2024

Read the rank neighborhood for District of Columbia

The highlighted point is District of Columbia: 257 bridges and 1.95% in Poor condition, rank #6 of 54 jurisdictions ordered from the lowest share upward. The five jurisdictions immediately above and below District of Columbia on that same Poor-share ordering:

  • Delaware: 872 bridges · 1.26% Poor
  • Georgia: 15,069 bridges · 1.59% Poor
  • District of Columbia: 257 bridges · 1.95% Poor
  • Florida: 13,036 bridges · 2.79% Poor
  • Vermont: 2,862 bridges · 2.90% Poor

The full national sortable table lives on the rankings page.

Material families in District of Columbia

Exclusive FHWA material families across all 257 bridges in this state; continuous variants fold into the parent family. Orthogonal to the Poor-share scatter above.

Who maintains District of Columbia’s inventory

State agency holds 84.8% of the 257 public highway bridges filed under District of Columbia in the 2024 NBI, the agency-of-record split for this state, not a condition verdict.

When District of Columbia’s bridges were built

Pre-1950 construction accounts for 28.8% of the 257 bridges with a recorded original year in District of Columbia. Era bands are orthogonal to the Poor-share ranking above.

Condition Distribution

District of Columbia34.6%63.4%GoodFairPoor
Bridge inventory deck-condition mix - District of Columbia (FHWA NBI)

Counties (1)

District of Columbia 257

District of Columbia vs nearby ranks

Adjacent states by Poor-condition share (lower share = better)

States are ranked by the share of bridges whose lowest applicable component rating is 4 or below. This describes recorded condition; it does not measure funding effectiveness or live crossing safety. States here sit immediately above and below District of Columbia on the same metric.

DE

Delaware

1.26% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$872

GA

Georgia

1.59% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$15,069
Selected

DC

District of Columbia

1.95% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$257

FL

Florida

2.79% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$13,036

VT

Vermont

2.90% top marginal rate
Structure
Progressive
Burden @ $100K
$2,862

Bridges Needing Most Attention in District of Columbia

Six lowest-condition bridges in District of Columbia, ranked by the portal's composite display score. Inspection intervals are risk-based under current NBIS rules.

JOYCE ROAD

Poor

Over: LUZON BRANCH

0.3 MILES TO BEACH DRIVE., District of Columbia, DC

Built 1950 Load: 11.8 t ADT: 2,100

RAMP FR BENNING RD

Poor

Over: SB KENILWORTH AVE

KENILWORTH&BENNING RD, District of Columbia, DC

Built 1955 Load: 24.1 t ADT: 5,000

H STREET

Poor

Over: WASHINGTON TERMINAL YARD

H STREET OVER RAILROAD, District of Columbia, DC

Built 1907 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 14,300

T. ROOSEVELT BRID

Poor

Over: POT RIVER & POTOMAC

TR BRIDGE-POTOMAC RIVER, District of Columbia, DC

Built 1964 Load: 26.3 t ADT: 103,600

EDGEWATER STABLE A

Poor

Over: ROCK CREEK

0.3 MILES FROM CONNECTICU, District of Columbia, DC

Built 1958 Load: 36.3 t ADT: 50

Related

All states → | National rankings → | Understanding conditions → | Retired SD term explained →
Data sourced from the FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI), latest released cycle. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBridges.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the FHWA National Bridge Inventory (NBI). Poor condition is an inspection-record category, not a closure or unsafe-to-cross designation. Consult the bridge owner for current status.

Understanding Bridge Conditions

How FHWA rates bridge condition on a 0-9 scale.

Check Your Daily Bridges

How to look up bridge condition data for bridges on your route.

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

What to do with this

Use District of Columbia's inventory picture to drill to a county or a specific span.

  • Browse counties in District of Columbia and open the highest-Poor shares first. County list
  • See where this state sits among peers on Poor-condition share. State rankings
  • Compare this state with another jurisdiction on the same measures. State compare

NBI condition ratings are inventory snapshots, not live crossing-safety verdicts.

Every figure on PlainBridges is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. District of Columbia Good/Fair/Poor shares and county rollups on this page are computed from the same NBI extract as the national boards; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2024 NBI release. NBI condition categories reflect the latest reported inventory record, not a live safety, closure, or travel decision.