About & methodology
Exact sources, the classification rule, and the limits of what this site claims
United States Bridge Conditions2025 National Bridge Inventory, FHWACompiled
Bridge Report Card is an independent data site that publishes the Federal Highway Administration's National Bridge Inventory as readable pages: one per state, one per county, and one per poor-rated bridge that carries meaningful traffic.
Sources
- FHWA National Bridge Inventory - the 2025 per-state data files (ascii2025). Every count and rating on this site comes from these files; the Good/Fair/Poor classification is FHWA's own computed field, not ours.
- Census county codes - county names for FIPS codes.
Update cadence
FHWA publishes the inventory annually, typically mid-year. This site rebuilds weekly against the current vintage and moves to each new vintage when FHWA releases it; every page states the vintage and compile date in its masthead.
Method
Condition classes follow FHWA's rule: a bridge's lowest component rating (deck, superstructure, substructure, or culvert) of 7-9 is Good, 5-6 Fair, 4 or less Poor. Percentages exclude the small number of records without a reported condition. Traffic figures are the inventory's reported average daily traffic, with count years varying by bridge. Bridges are matched to counties by the inventory's own county codes. We do not adjust, estimate, or model anything.
What this site does not do
No safety predictions, no engineering judgments, no advice. A poor rating is a federal repair flag, not a verdict that a bridge is dangerous, and we say so on every page. For real-time closures and load postings, consult the bridge owner or state DOT; for the official federal portal, see FHWA InfoBridge.
Contact
Corrections and questions: contact@bridgereportcard.com. The underlying data is public domain; cite this site by linking any page.