Inspection Monitoring and Management of Federal Road Bridges

A preservation of the Federal trunk roads is a task to the long-term for safeguarding of the mobility for economy and society. For the maintenance of bridges and other engineering structures this means the guarantee of quality, durability, availability as well as the presently available high standard of traffic safety. This is particularly valid against the background of the forecast traffic increases, the increase of heavy and special transports subject to authorisation as well as possible rises of the permitted total weight and/or the introduction of innovative vehicle concepts. For these scenarios the age distribution of the bridge stock as well as the partly not satisfactory condition state of the structures also are of a special significance particularly. For reaching of these aims instruments and methods which enable all persons concerned are being developed to plan steer and check the complex maintenance processes. The conception of the modules of the Bridge Management System (BMS) was carried out under leadership of the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) in the interaction with the Federal Ministry of Transport Building and Urban Affairs (BMVBS) and the local road authorities. The paper describes the modules of the BMS as well as the necessary data of the bridge stock, whereas the assessment of the condition of the structures is of a special significance.