Bridge Preservation Guide: Maintaining State of Good Repair Using Cost Effective Investment Strategies.

摘要

State departments of transportation and other bridge owners are faced with significant challenges in addressing the Nations highway bridge preservation and replacement needs. More than 25 percent of the Nations 600,000 bridges are rated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. More than 30 percent of existing bridges have exceeded their 50-year theoretical design life1 Bridge stewards and owners need to become, inevitably, more strategic by adopting and implementing systematic processes for bridge preservation as an integral component of their overall management of bridge assets. and are in need of various levels of repairs, rehabilitation, or replacement. This issue is exacerbated by increasing travel demands, limited funding, and increasing costs of labor and materials. These circumstances have caused most bridge owners to become more reactive than proactive in their approach to managing and addressing their bridge program needs. This guide provides bridge related definitions and corresponding commentaries, as well as the framework for a systematic approach to a preventive maintenance (PM) program. The goal is to provide guidance on bridge preservation. This guide does not create or confer any rights for or on any person or operate to bind the bridge owners or bridge operating agencies. Bridge owners or agencies may use an alternative approach if it satisfies the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations.