National Bridge Inventory: District of Columbia



  • The state has identified needed repairs on 127 bridges.
  • This compares to 126 bridges that needed work in 2020.
  • Over the life of the IIJA, District of Columbia will receive a total of $225.0 million in bridge formula funds, which will help make needed repairs.
  • District of Columbia currently has access to $135.0 million of that total, and has committed $58.3 million towards 7 projects as of June 2024.
  • Of the 257 bridges in the district, 5, or 1.9 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. This means one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition.
  • This is down from 8 bridges classified as structurally deficient in 2020.
  • The deck area of structurally deficient bridges accounts for 5.7 percent of total deck area on all structures.

Top Most Traveled Structurally Deficient Bridges in District of Columbia

County Year Built Daily Crossings Type of Bridge Location
District of Columbia 1964 103,600 Urban Interstate T. Roosevelt Brid over Pot River & Potomac
District of Columbia 1907 14,300 Urban other principal arterial H Street over Washington Terminal Yard
District of Columbia 1955 5,000 Urban other principal arterial Ramp from Benning Rd over SB Kenilworth Ave
District of Columbia 1950 2,100 Urban local road Joyce Road over Luzon Branch
District of Columbia 1958 50 Urban local road Edgewater Stable A over Rock Creek

Bridge Inventory: District of Columbia

Type of Bridge Number of Bridges Area of All Bridges
(sq. meters)
Daily Crossings on All Bridges Number of Structurally Deficient Bridges Area of Structurally Deficient Bridges
(sq. meters)
Daily Crossings on Structurally Deficient Bridges
Rural Interstate 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rural arterial 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rural minor arterial 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rural major collector 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rural minor collector 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rural local road 0 0 0 0 0 0
Urban Interstate 72 201,684 4,218,570 1 16,006 103,600
Urban freeway/expressway 19 47,866 998,400 0 0 0
Urban other principal arterial 48 160,068 1,753,679 2 16,788 19,300
Urban minor arterial 51 90,259 830,517 0 0 0
Urban collector 26 30,300 234,670 0 0 0
Urban local road 41 46,385 321,459 2 322 2,150
Total 257 576,563 8,357,295 5 33,115 125,050

Proposed Bridge Work

Type of Work Number of Bridges Cost to Repair
(in millions)
Daily Crossings Area of Bridges
(sq. meters)
Bridge replacement 1 $57 14,300 16,526
Widening & rehabilitation 0 $0 0 0
Rehabilitation 25 $101 837,619 40,397
Deck rehabilitation/replacement 10 $27 214,483 11,019
Other structural work 91 $380 2,922,120 154,619
Total 127 $565 3,988,522 222,561

About the data:

Data and cost estimates are from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory (NBI), downloaded on August 20, 2024. Note that specific conditions on bridges may have changed as a result of recent work or updated inspections.

Effective January 1, 2018, FHWA changed the definition of structurally deficient as part of the final rule on highway and bridge performance measures, published May 20, 2017 pursuant to the 2012 federal aid highway bill Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Two measures that were previously used to classify bridges as structurally deficient are no longer used. This includes bridges where the overall structural evaluation was rated in poor or worse condition, or where the adequacy of waterway openings was insufficient.

The new definition limits the classification to bridges where one of the key structural elements—the deck, superstructure, substructure or culverts, are rated in poor or worse condition. During inspection, the conditions of a variety of bridge elements are rated on a scale of 0 (failed condition) to 9 (excellent condition). A rating of 4 is considered “poor” condition.

Cost estimates have been derived by ARTBA, based on 2023 average bridge replacement costs for structures on and off the National Highway System, published by FHWA. Bridge rehabilitation costs are estimated to be 68 percent of replacement costs. A bridge is considered to need repair if the structure has identified repairs as part of the NBI, a repair cost estimate is supplied by the bridge owner or the bridge is classified as structurally deficient. Please note that for a few states, the number of bridges needing to be repaired can vary significantly from year to year, and reflects the data entered by the state.

Bridges are classified by FHWA into types based on the functional classification of the roadway on the bridge. Interstates comprise routes officially designated by the Secretary of Transportation. Other principal arterials serve major centers of urban areas or provide mobility through rural areas. Freeways and expressways have directional lanes generally separated by a physical barrier, and access/egress points generally limited to on- and off-ramps. Minor arterials serve smaller areas and are used for trips of moderate length. Collectors funnel traffic from local roads to the arterial network; major collectors have higher speed limits and traffic volumes and are longer in length and spaced at greater intervals, while minor collectors are shorter and provide service to smaller communities. Local roads do not carry through traffic and are intended for short distance travel.

47
Compared to 47 in 2023

in the nation in % of structurally deficient bridges

1. Iowa 19.0%
46. Florida 3.0%
47. District of Columbia 2.0%
48. Georgia 2.0%

52
Compared to 52 in 2023

in the nation in # of structurally deficient bridges

1. Iowa 4,544
51. Delaware 11
52. District of Columbia 5

21
Compared to 23 in 2023

in the nation in % of structurally deficient bridge deck area

1. Rhode Island 14.0%
20. Louisiana 6.0%
21. District of Columbia 6.0%
22. Montana 6.0%
Full State Ranking

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  • Source: Data is from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory (NBI), downloaded on August 20, 2024. Note that specific conditions on bridges may have changed as a result of recent work or updated inspections.

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