Get In, Stay In, Get Out, Stay Out

Nearly 50% (more than 250,000) U.S. bridges, according to the National Bridge Inventory, are in the 25- to 50-year age range. This is a major concern for many State departments of transportation and the Federal Highway Administration because many bridges have a life expectancy of 50 years--making them near the ends of their anticipated life cycles. The current goal with new bridge construction is a 100-year lifespan. In addition to aging, about 26% of the bridges in the U.S. inventory are deficient. Highway capacity also has increased little during the past 2 decades, but traffic demand has grown tremendously, causing increased congestion with bridge construction projects compounding the problem. Traffic control represents anywhere from 20-40% of construction costs, and user delays are priced at thousands of dollars/day in heavy traffic areas. Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) is a swift and economical solution for rehabilitating or rebuilding bridges to address aging, substandrad load capacity, safety, and congestion. This article presents success stories showing how many State agencies and contractors have used ABC, especially prefabrication, effectively.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/06nov/01.cfm
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586080
• Authors:
  • Mistry, Vasant
  • Mangus, Al
• Publication Date: 2006-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Photos;
• Pagination: pp 2-9
• Serial:
  • Public Roads
  • Volume: 70
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Federal Highway Administration
  • ISSN: 0033-3735
  • Serial URL: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge construction; Bridge design; Bridge engineering; Highway bridges; Prefabricated bridges; Rehabilitation; Service life; State departments of transportation; Traffic volume
• Identifier Terms: U.S. Federal Highway Administration; U.S. National Bridge Inventory
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01042243
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 1 2007 8:37AM