Bridge inspection

Inspections are undoubtedly the most important piece of the bridge management process as they inform all other decisions. An early standard (Ministry of War Transport, 1945) gave the following advice.

This chapter includes general advice on the planning, execution and reporting of bridge inspections. Further detailed guidance is available in the Inspection Manual for Highway Structures (Highways Agency, 2007) and DMRB document CS 450 – Inspection of highway structures (Highways England, 2021).

The bridge manager must ensure that the purpose of any inspection and the level of detail required are both well defined.

Bridge inspections can be divided into four broad groups, according to their purpose