Chapter 23: Bridge management

The objectives of a bridge manager are to ensure that bridges achieve their design life, that they remain open to traffic continuously and that their risk of failure is always very low. These objectives are to be achieved sustainably and at minimum lifetime cost. The chapter divides the subject into project- and network-level bridge management: the former is concerned with individual bridges, whereas the latter deals with the management of bridge stocks. Project-level management includes such aspects as inspection, testing and deciding maintenance requirements and appropriate prevention and remedial methods and monitoring strategies. Network-level management includes estimating the rate of deterioration, the prediction of future condition using Markov chain models, planning optimal maintenance programmes, prioritising maintenance and assessing the effectiveness of different maintenance strategies. Maintenance affordability, backlogs and long-term plans are also discussed, as are some important techniques used by bridge managers, for example, whole-life costing, probability modelling and sustainability assessment. The chapter concludes with a brief review of recent research on bridge management systems and the results of a survey on the type and functionality of bridge management systems used by local authorities and other bridge owners in the UK.