Characteristics of the US Highway Bridge Population

by Kenneth F. Dunker, (M.ASCE), Iowa State Univ, Ames, United States,
Basile G. Rabbat, (M.ASCE), Iowa State Univ, Ames, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Computing in Civil Engineering

Abstract:

Characteristics of US highway bridges are summarized, and conditions of national, regional, and state bridges are analyzed with respect to structural deficiency. The overall patterns in the 1992 National Bridge Inventory change depending on how the bridge population is measured: by count, by deck area, or by vehicle miles. County bridges dominate the bridge population by count, but interstate bridges dominate by vehicle miles. By count, about half of the population has a maximum span less than 12 m (40 ft), and about half has an average daily traffic count less than 500. On county roads, steel bridges are rated structurally deficient at much higher percentages than prestressed concrete bridges of the same age.

Subject Headings: Highway bridges | Concrete bridges | Steel bridges | Bridge tests | Structural analysis | Bridge-vehicle interaction | Steel structures | United States

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