Bridges
Highlights
FY2024
- The percentage of deck area on WSDOT-owned bridges in poor condition increased from 7.2% in June 2023 to 8.5% in June 2024
- As of June 2024, WSDOT owned 315 bridges that were 80 years old or older, the same number as in June 2023
- There were 133 WSDOT-owned bridges that were load posted or load restricted in June 2024, the same number as in June 2023
Bridges background
Bridges
In Washington, there are roughly 7,700 bridges on the state, city and county road systems that are over 20 feet in length and carry vehicular traffic.
A bridge is expected to have a service life of 75 years based on current standards. The average age of state-owned vehicular bridges is 51 years.
The interstate program in the 1950s and 1960s included a significant number of new bridges. There are approximately 315 WSDOT bridges that are 80 years old or older.
Bridge asset management
WSDOT's Bridge Preservation Program includes a combination of cost-effective actions, such as bridge repairs and rehabilitation, steel bridge painting, deck rehabilitation, and bridge replacement. The objective of Bridge Asset Management is to provide decision-making support tools that help create an optimal program for repair, preservation, rehabilitation, and replacement for the network of bridges. This program aims to maximize bridge performance while minimizing the overall life cycle cost.
Each biennium, WSDOT reviews the condition of bridges and develop a list of needs for a 10-year period. The needs are prioritized to select the best projects with the available funding.
Top of page