DYNAMICS AND FIELD TESTING OF BRIDGES

There are more than 590,000 bridges in the United States highway network; and deficient bridges are being replaced at a rate of about 5,600 per year, and that number is predicted to rise to 7,000 per year. This paper points to the need to identify research focus areas and technologies needed to facilitate a reduction in the deficient bridge population. The paper provides an overview of national bridge deficiencies in order to identify the significant problems facing the nation with regard to bridges and to identify future directions and challenges for bridge testing and evaluation research.