Some proposals for the Highway Bridge Design System improvement, aimed at increasing of maintenance and rehabilitation efficiency

This article revises the existing Highway Bridge Design System. The traditional and improved approaches dealing with bridge life cycle are considered. Shown, that success depends primarily on decisions taken at the design stage. Some results of bridge inspections in Russia are presented. The examples of technical and organizational solutions improving are given. The paper spotlights that retrofitting of the existing Design System must be based on feedback from the operation process. Systematization of data from operation of similar facilities, risk analysis, development of routine and heavy maintenance plans, inspection plans and health monitoring systems should start from very beginning of design process. Example of contradiction between design and operation is presented. It’s suggested to create the Data Base, containing the information concerning structures, ineffective in terms of safety and long service life of highway bridges.