Elements Of An Effective Bridge Management Plan
- 1. Elements of an Effective Bridge Management Program Presented by: Barritt Lovelace, WSB & Associates, Inc.
- 2. Presentation Overview Assessment National Bridge Inspection Standard Bridge Safety Inspections Bridge Inventory Bridge Load Rating Preservation Bridge Maintenance Improvement Bridge Funding
- 3. Assessment National Bridge Inspection Standard (NBIS) Developed in 1968 by the Federal Highway Administration Intended to ensure the safety of the traveling public Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968
- 4. Assessment Policies Established by the NBIS Frequency of Inspections Inspection Procedures Qualifications of Personnel Inspection Reports Maintenance of Bridge Inventory (NBI)
- 5. Assessment Bridge Management Responsibility - Minnesota The commissioner of transportation for all bridges located wholly or partially within or over the right-of-way of a state trunk highway and for toll bridges used by the general public; The county highway engineer for all bridges located wholly or partially within or over the right-of-way of any county or township road, or any street within a municipality which does not have a city engineer regularly employed; and The city engineer for all bridges located wholly or partially within or over the right-of-way of any street located within or along municipal limits.
- 6. Assessment Bridge Safety Inspections - Frequency All bridges must be inspected annually by Minnesota Rule Unless a longer interval not to exceed two years is authorized by the commissioner NBI Rating must be rated 5 or higher to qualify Culverts may qualify for a four month inspection cycle Only if a list of conditions are met
- 7. Assessment Qualifications of Personnel Program Manager MnDOT Program Administrator Registered Professional Engineer Team Leader Professional Engineer with FHWA training course and pass a field proficiency test Five years bridge inspection experience with FHWA training course and pass a field proficiency test Assistant Bridge Inspector No official Requirements
- 8. Assessment Safety Inspection Procedures Examination of the Structure Evaluation of the physical condition Two Methods NBI Ratings Describes the overall condition of the bridge, rated on a scale of 1-9 Components include deck, superstructure, channel and culvert condition Structural Element Condition Ratings Provides a detailed examination by breaking the bridge down into components Rated on a scale of 1-5
- 9. Assessment NBI Rating Example
- 10. Assessment Structural Element Condition Rating Example
- 11. Assessment Safety Inspection Procedures Continued Inspection Reporting New SIMS Database Structure Information Management System
- 12. Bridge Safety Inspections Web Based Tablet Computer Options Serves as an electronic file
- 13. Assessment Special Inspections-Underwater Bridges are required to be inspected underwater every 4 or 5 years
- 14. Assessment Special Inspection-Fracture Critical Inspector must be certified in fracture critical More in depth than normal safety inspection
- 15. Assessment Bridge Load Rating Load Rating is defined as the calculation to determine the safe live load carry capacity of a bridge Required by NBIS and by Minnesota Statute Used to calculate sufficiency rating
- 16. Assessment C = Capacity of Member P = Dead, Live and Pedestrian Load I = Impact Percentage Inventory Level – Design Loads Operating Level – Infrequent Regulated Loads Bridge Load Rating
- 17. Assessment Bridge Inventory State maintains an inventory of bridges Includes important information for bridge Sufficiency Rating is calculated based on many criteria Sufficiency Rating is used to determine funding eligibility
- 19. Preservation Preventative and Reactive Maintenance Crack Sealing Concrete Spall Repair Overlays Safety Improvements Simple Repairs Flushing
- 20. Improvement Rehabilitation and Replacement Construction Cost Life Cycle Cost Geometry Load Carrying Capacity Bridge Condition Community Impact
- 21. Improvement Funding Sources Federal Highway Bridge Program - 80% of Abutment to Abutment Costs State Bridge Bonds CSAH or MSAS roads eligible for up to 75% Bridge Bonds with 25% State Aid Contribution Local Roads up to 100% of Bridge Construction Approximately $24M left in fund Township Bridge Funds 100% of eligible bridge costs
- 22. Minnesota Bridges State of Minnesota’s Bridges 19,358 total bridges Local agencies are responsible for 14,760 of those 2,327 bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete
- 23. Elements of an Effective Bridge Management Program Assessment Utilize qualified bridge inspectors Designate a knowledgeable program administrator Utilize the benefits of SIMS, maintain your inventory Preservation Provide preventative maintenance Prioritize and plan bridge rehabilitation and replacement projects Improvement Take advantage of funding sources
- 24. Questions
Editor's Notes
- #2: Welcome, thanks for attending
- #3: Hopefully give some insight into having a quality bridge management program.
- #4: During the bridge building boom of the 1950’s and 60’s little attention was paid to safety inspection and maintenance of bridges Changed with the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge in West Virginia where 46 people were killed
- #5: NBIS is a set of federal rules that address the following
- #6: Federal Law Requires assigns responsibility to the States. MN Rule 8810.9300 defines the responsibility for inspection and inventory of bridges MnDOT Counties Cities All publicly owned bridges over 10 feet must be inspected, reported and maintained. Federal criteria is 20 feet.
- #7: Inspection Frequency All bridges must be inspected annually by Minnesota Rule Unless a longer interval not to exceed two years is authorized by the commissioner NBI Rating must be rated 5 or higher to qualify Most bridges end up being inspected every two years This is a maximum, can and should be inspected more frequently when warranted Culverts may qualify for a four month inspection cycle Only if a list of conditions are met Suggest more frequent cursory inspections to identify blockages etc.
- #8: Qualifications of personnel Program Administrator Registered Professional Engineer Does not need to be a bridge engineer, typically County of City Engineer, many are assigning this responsibility to bridge engineer, I am the administrator for around a dozen agencies Team Leader Professional Engineer with FHWA training course and pass a field proficiency test Five years bridge inspection experience with FHWA training course and pass a field proficiency test More difficult than in the past to become certified Assistant Bridge Inspector No official Requirements one week class recommended
- #9: Inspection Procedures Examination of the Structure looking for cracks, displacements, spalling etc sometimes need a lift, snooper, waders, boats to gain access photo, on a barge, man lift Evaluation of the physical condition Two Methods NBI Ratings Describes the overall condition of the bridge, rated on a scale of 1-9 Components include deck, superstructure, channel and culvert condition Structural Element Condition Ratings Provides a detailed examination by breaking the bridge down into components Rated on a scale of 1-9
- #11: Give example of timber piling, each pile can be assigned to different categories
- #12: Inspection Procedures Continued Inspection Reporting New SIMS Database Structure Information Management System Really nice system, big improvement
- #13: We have been using tables, even phones to log inspections with photos Web Based accessible anywhere with an internet connection Tablet Computer Options We have been using tables, even phones to log inspections with photos Serves as an electronic file Can include photos, original plans, rating calculations
- #14: Two types of special inspection, underwater and fracture critical, MnDOT provides a program to help local agencies first being an underwater inspection, the water depth is such that the underwater portions of a substructure cannot routinely be inspected using waders during periods of low water depth Pest removal, California
- #15: Also a partnership program for fracture critical inspections between MnDOT and locals Fracture critical is defined by being non load path redundant. Has a member that if it fails will result in the collapse of the bridge. Fracture critical bridge inspection often include testing, such as mag particle testing, ultrasonic testing to look for cracks.
- #16: Next component of a bridge management program is bridge rating. Looking for the member with the lowest capacity to carry the load that you are analyzing for Bridges are required to be rated at the time of construction, and anytime a change is made to the bridge, including a condition change.
- #17: Basically calculating how much capacity is left to carry vehicular traffic Virtis, other software, sometimes by hand LFD vs. LRFD
- #18: State maintains an inventory of bridges Includes important information for bridge Location, geometry, ADT,hydraulic As part of the inventory a sufficiency rating for each bridge is calculated. Sufficiency Rating is calculated based on many criteria Scale of 0-100, measure of the ability of a bridge to perform given its location, traffic, and condition Two bridges with an identical condition will have a different sufficiency rating. Sufficiency Rating is used to determine funding eligibility Rating below 50 qualifies for funding, rating of 80 or less qualifies with a S.D. or F.O. status
- #19: Extremely long equation A Structural Adequacy Condition from safety inspection, NBI Rating B Servicability Lanes Traffic Geometry Clearances Waterway Roadway width etc C Essentiality for Public Use Defense highway Detour length D Special Reductions Detour length Traffic Safety Features Structure Type Bridge could be in great shape or even new and have a sufficiency rating less than 100%
- #20: Deck Replacement Crack Sealing inexpensive Spall Repair Overlays Improvement of Safety Features Add railing or guardrail Painting Simple Repairs Replace bolts, repair guardrail, remove trees and brush, spot painting, rip rap repair We have started replacing bolts
- #21: Rehabilitation and Replacement Construction Cost Life Cycle Cost Geometry Load Carrying Capacity Bridge Condition Community Impact Detours Etc
- #22: Federal Program is a little more difficult, more requirements, still a great program. Project needs to be selected by the Area Transportation Partnership and be listed in the STIP. Bridge needs to be SD or FO and have a sufficiency rating less than 50 Sometimes difficult to use, MnDOT gets grief While the last legislative session was disappointing they did approve around $30M for bridge bonding, $24M of which was not spoken for. With all the deficient bridges it is very important for local agencies to spend the money. Great time to move bridge projects forward, great funding options, contractors are hungry, engineers are hungry also
- #23: MnDOT, local agencies, and the transportation industry have a shared responsibility to improve our infrastructure with regards to bridges. Discuss 10 ft vs 20 ft
- #24: Assessment Utilize qualified bridge inspectors Rules are more strict in the past, qualifications important Designate a knowledgeable program administrator does not have to be a bridge engineer but should be know legible Utilize the benefits of SIMS, maintain your inventory update information as it changes, re-rate bridges when warranted Preservation Provide preventative maintenance perform proactive repairs, not just reactive Flush Bridges with water annually Prioritize and plan bridge rehabilitation and replacement projects Don’t get caught with a deficient bridge, by keeping your program current and up to date you will increase your funding Improvement Take advantage of funding sources Great time to take advantage of funding
- #25: Open it up for questions