CLIMBING: A UNIQUE AND EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO BRIDGE INSPECTION (ABRIDGMENT)

Bridges are a critical part of this nation's infrastructure. Their thorough and regular inspection is vital to the safety of everyone who crosses them. However, gaining access to primary structural members of a high-level bridge presents a major dilemma. In 1981, Burgess and Niple Ltd. pioneered a unique approach to bridge inspection using rock-climbing technology. Trained structural engineers and technicians use standard climbing techniques to reach bridge components that are often difficult to access. By applying climbing skills, inspectors can ascend and descend, walk and climb on, swing and hang from, and maneuver around various bridge components. The climbing approach to bridge inspection offers several advantages over traditional methods. The equipment is lighter and less cumbersome than safety equipment used by iron workers. The techniques are often quicker, less expensive, and more effective than mechanical access methods. Inspection by climbing allows little or no disruption of vehicular traffic.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1991/1319/1319-004.pdf
• Record URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=CLIMBING%3A+A+UNIQUE+AND+EFFECTIVE+APPROACH+TO+BRIDGE+INSPECTION+(ABRIDGMENT)&author=R.+Stokes+Jr&publication_year=1991
• Availability:
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1319, Bridge and Hydrology Research 1991. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Stokes Jr, Raymond H
• Publication Date: 1991

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 28-31
• Monograph Title: Bridge and hydrology research 1991
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1319
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Access; Bridges; Cost effectiveness; Inspection; Measures of effectiveness; Productivity
• Uncontrolled Terms: Bridge inspection; Effectiveness; Time savings
• Old TRIS Terms: Climbing
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; I61: Equipment and Maintenance Methods;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00621486
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309051576
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 30 1992 12:00AM