Whatcom County Bridge Report Card

Whatcom County scores 74 out of 100 on BridgeLookup's Bridge Condition Exposure Score, based on FHWA National Bridge Inventory records.

C74 / 100

Local infrastructure snapshot

Whatcom County, Washington

Whatcom County has 355 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, with 20 rated poor and 15 rated scour-critical. Its poor-condition share of 5.6% is above the 5.6% statewide average. Poor-condition bridges carry about 70,971 daily vehicle crossings.

355Total Bridges

20Poor (5.6%)

178Fair (50.1%)

15Scour-Critical

Quote-Ready Local Facts

5.6%of county bridges are in poor condition, compared with 5.6% statewide and 6.7% nationally.

70,971daily vehicle crossings are on poor-condition bridges in the county.

15bridges are rated scour-critical, or 4.2% of the county bridge inventory.

Copyable Facts for Reporters

BridgeLookup.com gives Whatcom County a Bridge Condition Exposure Score of 74/100 (C). The county has 355 bridges in the National Bridge Inventory, including 20 in poor condition and 15 rated scour-critical. Poor-condition bridges carry about 70,971 daily vehicle crossings. Poor condition does not mean unsafe; bridges judged unsafe are closed or restricted by transportation agencies.

Download all county report-card scores as CSV.

How the Score Breaks Down

Factor	Weight	County Value	Penalty
Poor-condition bridge share	40	5.6%	11.3
Poor-condition traffic exposure	25	3.9% of measured traffic	2.9
Scour-critical bridge share	20	4.2%	8.5
Average age vs national baseline	10	55 years vs 48 nationally	3.0
Traffic-data completeness	5	1,820,271 measured daily crossings	0.0

Score = 100 minus weighted penalties. The score is a comparative research signal, not an official safety rating. Read the full methodology.

County Comparisons

County Poor-Condition Share	5.6%
State Poor-Condition Share	5.6%
National Poor-Condition Share	6.7%
County Scour-Critical Share	4.2%
Average Bridge Age	55 years
Poor-Condition Traffic Exposure	70,971 vehicles/day

Bridges to Watch

Busiest Poor-Condition BridgeSR 544 over Nooksack R Overflow — 10,205 vehicles/day Oldest Listed BridgeSR 542 over Maple Creek — built in 1900 All County BridgesBrowse every bridge record in Whatcom County.

Top Bridges to Watch in Whatcom County

Bridge	Reason	Condition	Daily Traffic	Year Built
SR 544 over Nooksack R Overflow	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	10,205	1994
SR 542 over Fossil Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	1,283	1934
SR 542 over Glacier Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	1,283	1956
SR 542 over Bagley Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	636	1946
SR 542 over Overflow Channel No 2	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	10,027	1948
Electric Avenue over Whatcom Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	8,500	1959
NB SR 539 over Nooksack R	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	7,931	1950
Marine DR over Access RD Creek Old Rr	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	7,694	1933
Marine DR over Bnsf Rr	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	6,344	1940
SR 542 over Bell Creek	Poor condition + traffic exposure	Poor	5,312	1951

Important safety note

Poor condition does not mean a bridge is unsafe. It means at least one major component has significant deterioration and the bridge is a priority for maintenance, repair, or replacement. Bridges judged unsafe are closed or restricted by transportation agencies.