Bridge Condition Assessment and Preservation

In an era of insufficient infrastructure funding, bridge owners must be certain that repair or replacement are not the only options considered in resolving critical condition issues.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently published Bridge Preservation Guide – Maintaining a State of Good Repair Using Cost Effective Investment Strategies.  This short publication encourages state DOTs to think more strategically to maximize the life span of bridges.  Specifically, the FHWA supports state DOTs employing the means and methods to extend the safe operating life of a bridge, particularly by implementing sound asset management principles.  Quoting from the pamphlet:

“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.”

In addition, the 2011 AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation (MBE) Chapter 8 states:

“The actual performance of most bridges is more favorable than conventional theory dictates. When a structure’s computed theoretical safe load capacity or remaining fatigue life is less than desirable, it may be beneficial to the bridge owner to take advantage of some of the bridge’s inherent extra capacity that may have been ignored in conventional calculations.”

LifeSpan Technologies provides objective, actionable, structural health monitoring information so that states, cities, and other owners can safely derive the lowest life-cycle cost from their bridge and other structural assets.

Using LifeSpan’s solutions, our clients can spend more time analyzing precise, real-time structural information to support difficult decisions involving structural maintenance, repair, or replacement; rather than relying solely on subjective visual inspection data.

For more information, contact LifeSpan Technologies at 1-770-234-9494 or via e-mail at info@lifespantechnologies.com.