National Bridge Inventory: Washington



  • The state has identified needed repairs on 7,531 bridges.
  • This compares to 6,894 bridges that needed work in 2021.
  • Over the life of the IIJA, Washington will receive a total of $653.4 million in bridge formula funds, which will help make needed repairs.
  • Washington currently has access to $522.7 million of that total, and has committed $158.6 million towards 70 projects as of June 2025.
  • Of the 8,520 bridges in the state, 473, or 5.6 percent, are classified as structurally deficient. This means one of the key elements is in poor or worse condition.
  • This is up from 401 bridges classified as structurally deficient in 2021.
  • The deck area of structurally deficient bridges accounts for 8.3 percent of total deck area on all structures.

Top Most Traveled Structurally Deficient Bridges in Washington

County Year Built Daily Crossings Type of Bridge Location
King 1966 96,847 Urban Interstate I-5 over Lucile St
King 1970 74,410 Urban Interstate I-90 over Mercer Sl
King 1940 74,410 Urban Interstate I-90 over Mercer Slough
King 1940 68,544 Urban Interstate Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge
King 1989 68,544 Urban Interstate Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge
Chelan 1973 48,107 Urban freeway/expressway SR 285 over S Wenatchee Ave
Clark 1940 41,939 Rural Interstate I-5 over Lewis River
Clark 1939 41,939 Rural Interstate I-5 over E Fork Lewis River
King 1952 40,000 Urban other principal arterial S Boeing Access Rd over Airport Way Bar Ramp
King 1930 36,000 Urban other principal arterial Eastlake Ave NE over Portage Bay Pl E
King 1915 35,000 Urban other principal arterial Eastlake Ave NE over Portage Bay
Cowlitz 1972 33,912 Urban Interstate I-5 over Log Dump Rd & Bn Ry
King 1976 33,803 Rural Interstate I-90 over Game Crossing
King 1972 31,879 Urban other principal arterial 15th St Northwest over Uprr
King 1975 31,252 Rural Interstate I-90 over Raging River
Pierce 1961 29,145 Urban other principal arterial SR 99 (54th Ave E) over I-5, Ramps
Pierce 1934 28,316 Urban other principal arterial SR 167 over BNSF RR
King 1933 28,000 Urban other principal arterial 4th Ave S over Argo RR Yard
Pierce 1959 27,805 Urban other principal arterial Gravelly Lake Dr over BNRR (Np)
King 1910 27,000 Urban other principal arterial 4th Ave S over Parking Garage
Grays Harbor 1955 26,216 Urban other principal arterial US 101 over Chehalis River
Yakima 1961 25,406 Urban Interstate I-82 over Np Ry Moxee
King 1958 25,000 Urban minor arterial W Meeker Street over Green River
Pierce 1936 23,753 Urban other principal arterial SR 302 over Henderson Bay
Pacific 1966 23,300 Rural arterial US 101 over Columbia R

Bridge Inventory: Washington

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 285 348,785 5,082,339 47 62,770 693,191
Rural arterial 552 508,979 3,502,099 47 97,376 265,807
Rural minor arterial 335 226,635 1,442,784 32 32,036 115,386
Rural major collector 1,338 536,691 2,354,226 80 36,977 116,937
Rural minor collector 787 201,554 443,741 22 6,281 15,047
Rural local road 2,355 422,926 530,056 118 18,114 17,242
Urban Interstate 671 1,784,269 26,351,380 16 144,229 521,258
Urban freeway/expressway 512 1,340,152 12,089,665 16 62,231 261,522
Urban other principal arterial 518 865,788 9,438,736 36 80,830 618,521
Urban minor arterial 561 616,063 5,523,285 30 41,713 258,672
Urban collector 315 225,643 1,493,843 20 14,541 102,086
Urban local road 291 127,720 402,275 9 3,090 10,845
Total 8,520 7,205,204 68,654,429 473 600,187 2,996,514

Proposed Bridge Work

Type of Work Number of Bridges Cost to Repair
(in millions)
Daily Crossings Area of Bridges
(sq. meters)
Bridge replacement 2,747 $5,211 6,873,672 1,101,991
Widening & rehabilitation 186 $473 926,267 129,216
Rehabilitation 3,592 $21,589 57,958,577 5,304,182
Deck rehabilitation/replacement 278 $583 960,404 184,861
Other structural work 728 $844 1,477,461 271,577
Total 7,531 $28,700 68,196,381 6,991,827

About the data:

Data and cost estimates are from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory (NBI), downloaded on June 24, 2025. 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.

28
Compared to 29 in 2024

in the nation in % of structurally deficient bridges

1. Iowa 19.0%
27. Hawaii 6.0%
28. Washington 6.0%
29. Idaho 5.0%

28
Compared to 29 in 2024

in the nation in # of structurally deficient bridges

1. Iowa 4,424
27. Virginia 485
28. Washington 473
29. North Dakota 470

9
Compared to 13 in 2024

in the nation in % of structurally deficient bridge deck area

1. West Virginia 13.0%
8. South Dakota 8.0%
9. Washington 8.0%
10. Wyoming 8.0%
Full State Ranking

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  • Source: Data is from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Bridge Inventory (NBI), downloaded on June 24, 2025. Note that specific conditions on bridges may have changed as a result of recent work or updated inspections.

    ARTBA is a non-partisan federation whose primary goal is to aggressively grow and protect transportation infrastructure investment to meet the public and business demand for safe and efficient travel.

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