BRIDGES. IN: STRUCTURAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT

This chapter will examine bridge condition assessment as an engineering function and will review current practices. Engineering assessment is implied in bridge design but has become increasingly more specific, independent, and sometimes even legally binding. Vehicular bridges in the United States national system have been inspected biennially since 1978. The accumulated data have been interpreted to indicate that more than 40% of the 650,000 highway bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. One our of three bridge crossings is over a deficient bridge. Rehabilitation and replacement costs of bridges average $7 billion annually. The condition of approximately 101,000 railroad bridges and a comparable number of pedestrian bridges also must be evaluated. Public safety and the allocation of considerable national resources are therefore at stake. Bridge condition assessment is administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the American Railroad Engineering and Maintenance of Way Association (AREMA).