Bridge Management Programs

Workshop Participants Develop Program for Local Agencies

In three Bridge Maintenance workshops this April, participants defined an effective bridge maintenance program. They then discussed how to put one into use in their town or city. Their conclusions should apply in other municipalities, and are summarized below. Their basics of a bridge maintenance program are to inspect bridges, determine corrective actions, plan and budget, and maintain bridge files.

Inspection

The NHDOT inspects all New Hampshire bridges every two years, and "red-list" bridges annually. It has recently revised the report to make ratings and descriptive information easier to understand.

Participants emphasized the need for their inspections at least annually, and after major storms. Several noted that local inspectors should consider the areas around the bridge in addition to the bridge itself. They emphasized inspecting the road, the roadway drainage, and upstream water flow.

Speakers emphasized the need to inspect guardrails on and approaching bridges. Also related to motorist safety, many managers thought that local agencies should inspect bridge-related signs at least annually.

Some workshop participants had used the NHDOT inspection reports as a guide for their own inspections. Whereas NHDOT inspections document deficiencies, local inspections emphasize how to correct them.

Determine Corrective Actions

The participants recommended that bridge managers assemble a list of the deficiencies and actions. In addition to NHDOT and local inspections, managers should look at prior records to see if past, preventive maintenance is again due. Some workshop participants had a list of work items, which their crews performed annually. Items from their lists included:

• Clean -- sweep and wash -- the deck and structure.
• Patch and seal cracks in asphalt decks.
• Clean and repair expansion joints.
• Cut brush for drainage and sight distances on bridge approaches.
• Grade approaches, in and on the sides of the roadway and into the stream, adding appropriate material as needed.
• Remove debris upstream and at the bridge.

Some crews applied boiled linseed oil to concrete surfaces annually for the first several years, and then every two years. They scrapped and painted metal and wood as needed to provide protective coatings.

These work items prevented, or at least slowed, bridge deck and structure deterioration. In addition, municipal crews accomplished many one-time repairs.

Plans and Budgets

Participants emphasized the need to plan and budget for accomplishing maintenance and repairs. Several managers planned periodic repairs for specific months of the year. For example, they cleaned and washed bridges each April, and then inspected them. In May, they graded and reshaped roadway drainage to ensure that water ran off clear of the bridge and its abutments.

Many cities and towns have included funds for periodic repairs in annual budgets. For most one-time, non-emergency repairs, they budgeted for the following year. Setting priorities was necessary for both planned work and budgets.

Major repairs usually required a capital reserve fund, a bond issue, or some other funding mechanism. Special funds were also required for municipal contributions to the NH Bridge Aid Program to rehabilitate or reconstruct bridges. Some municipalities engaged an engineering firm to analyze complex problems, design solutions, and prepare cost estimates.

Maintain Bridge Files

More municipalities now have bridge files than was indicated in the 1996 UNH Tē Center bridge maintenance workshops. A complete file would include the following:

• Drawings and other descriptive information.
• NHDOT and local inspection reports.
• Records of work done, by whom and when.
• Pictures and plans for future work.

Bridge managers in some municipalities do not maintain bridge files. The most frequent reason given was that their town offices keep the NHDOT inspection reports. Participants felt that the Public Works or Highway Department should maintain the above listed information. Departments can get copies of recent reports from the NHDOT Existing Bridge Section at 271-3714.

Additional Information

The UNH Tē Center has a number of publications and videos on bridges and bridge maintenance. Please call or email us with any questions or information requests.

Bob Barry and Nancy Mayville, from the NHDOT Bureau of Municipal Highways, who manage the NH Bridge Aid Program.

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