Print this page Bridge Maintenance and Repair
Mark P. Rossow, PhD, PE Retired
Course Outline
This six-hour online course discusses the general preventative maintenance, repair, and upgrade of bridges. Specific categories of bridge maintenance, repair, and upgrade are discussed. The two categories of preventative maintenance—maintenance performed on a scheduled basis or on an as-needed basis—are described. Replacement of bridge member components is discussed, with consideration of the material used in the component, and the training level of the repair crews. Procedures for repair are presented as depending on evaluation, analysis, method and material selection, preparation of design documents, and execution in conformance with the design documents. Finally, upgrading is shown to be divisible into three levels: strengthening of individual components, adding components, or a combination of strengthening and adding components.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Be knowledgeable in requirements for specified interval maintenance;
- Be knowledgeable in requirements for as-needed maintenance;
- Be knowledgeable in requirements for replacement;
- Be knowledgeable in requirements for repair;
- Be knowledgeable in requirements for upgrading;
- Be familiar with procedures appropriate for repairing and strengthening piers;
- Be familiar with procedures appropriate for repairing and strengthening bents;
- Be familiar with procedures appropriate for repairing and strengthening concrete beams;
- Be familiar with procedures appropriate for repairing and strengthening girders;
- Be familiar with procedures appropriate for repairing and strengthening floor systems;
- Be familiar with procedures appropriate for repairing and strengthening trusses;
- Be familiar with procedures appropriate for repairing and strengthening bearings;
- Be familiar with procedures appropriate for repairing and strengthening decks;
- Know standard techniques for handling cracking;
- Know standard techniques for handling spalling;
- Know standard techniques for handling corrosion;
- Know standard techniques for handling rotting;
- Know standard techniques for handling foundation degradation; and
- Be familiar with procedures for upgrading existing bridges to expand their capacity.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for civil, construction, structural and mechanical engineers, and others concerned with maintenance, repair, and upgrade of bridges.
Benefit to Attendees
An attendee of this course will be able to formulate and design procedures for extending the life of bridges and, in the process, save the owners of the bridges from having to expend large sums in building new bridges.
Course Introduction
Because the cost of constructing and replacing bridges can be large and is increasing every day, owners of bridges need to make existing bridges last as long a possible. The way to do this is 1) properly maintaining each bridge to extend its service life, 2) immediately repairing any structural damage or deterioration of the bridge to prevent increased damage or deterioration, and 3) upgrading the load capacity of the structure to meet future increased traffic requirements. The specific categories of bridge maintenance, repair, and upgrade are discussed in the present course.
Course Content
The course materials are based on Chapters 10-13 of the manual “Joint Departments of the Army and Air Force, TM 5-600/AFJPAM 32-1088, Bridge Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair,” released in December, 1994.
TM 5-600/AFJPAM 32-1088, Bridge Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair
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Course Summary
The life of a bridge can be considerably extended by instituting a plan for periodic maintenance and, when necessary, repair. Also, when traffic demands on a bridge begin to approach its capacity, oftentimes the expense of building an entirely new bridge can be avoided by instead upgrading the existing bridge. These principles apply to all types of bridges: steel, concrete, timber, wrought and cast iron. Maintenance and repair procedures for each type of bridge differ from one another, and the engineer must choose the appropriate procedure for the particular bridge under consideration.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:
UFC 3-310-08 Non-Expeditionary Bridge Inspection, Maintenance and Repair, with Change 1
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
