Summary Report of Critical Findings Reviews for the National Bridge Inspection Program

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) reviewed the current state of highway bridge inspection practice for identifying and following up on critical findings and through a contract with HDR Engineering developed this report to summarize best practices and areas for improvement based on site visits to twelve States. The requirement for highway bridge owners to address critical findings is established in the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) (CFR 650.313 (h)). The standards require that owners must “assure that critical findings are addressed in a timely manner,” and they must “notify the FHWA of the actions taken to resolve or monitor critical findings.” The standards define a critical finding as “a structural or safety related deficiency that requires immediate follow-up inspection or action.” The FHWA believes this study necessary because it is this area of the bridge inspection program that addresses the most serious safety-related conditions on the nation’s bridges, and FHWA's experience with the national program indicates that state practices for addressing critical findings may be improved with more robust and consistent national policies. Many states have developed excellent procedures to deal with critical findings, and the FHWA wants to showcase these. Additionally, FHWA feels it important to uncover areas of concern or areas the inspection community has identified as needing improvement or clarification, and the report aims to provide this too. The information should be useful for federal policy development, but also for inspectors and inspection program managers who want to develop or improve their own procedures.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.aashtojournal.org/Documents/February2012/FHWAbridgereport.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 2011-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: 24p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Best practices; Condition surveys; Highway bridges; Inspection; Safety
• Identifier Terms: National Bridge Inspection Standards
• Uncontrolled Terms: Critical infrastructure
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; I60: Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01370152
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: May 16 2012 3:06PM