Check the Setup
- Python 3.10 or newer
- A notebook environment such as Jupyter or Google Colab
- An internet connection
Microproduct Data GuideIntermediate
FHWA National Bridge Inventory
Annual inspection records for U.S. highway bridges for building deficient-bridge maps and local infrastructure scorecards.
Report a ProblemAt a Glance
- Difficulty
- Intermediate — some data preparation helps
- Size
- Small · 0.001–0.1 GB
- Formats
- CSV, Text
- Access
- Download
- API Key
- Not Required
- Provider
- Federal Highway Administration
- Updates
- Annual
- Last Verified
- Aug 17, 2026
- Source Type
- Government Source
- Python Syntax Checked
From Source to Product Signal
Test a Product Idea in Four Steps
FHWA publishes annual National Bridge Inventory extracts as delimited state files. Start with one small jurisdiction and the documented field format. Inspection ratings are not a live closure feed, and the yearly filename changes with each inventory.
Access the Data
- 1.Open the current-year NBI ASCII download page and choose a comma-delimited state file.
- 2.Read the record-format notes before assigning column names.
- 3.Filter to highway bridges and keep condition ratings with the retrieval year.
3
Run the Python Example
Install the packages, then run the notebook cell.
python -m pip install pandas
import pandas as pd
bridges = pd.read_csv(
"https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/2025/delimited/DC25.txt",
dtype=str,
quotechar="'",
)
bridges["retrieved_at_utc"] = pd.Timestamp.now(tz="UTC")
print(bridges.head())4
Test a Useful Signal
Rank One Jurisdiction's Bridges by Deck Condition
Test whether annual inspection ratings can support a local infrastructure watch list.
- 01Identify the deck, superstructure, and substructure rating fields from the format guide.
- 02Count bridges in poor condition and map them when coordinates are present.
- 03State that ratings are inspection snapshots, not current closures, and that coding-guide definitions changed over time.
Dataset Details
Federal Highway Administration is a government source. Last verified 2026-08-17. Temporal coverage: annual inventories submitted each spring.
Data Types
Geography
Provider
Federal Highway Administration
Data Terms
U.S. Government public data / federal copyright guidance