In order to maintain safety and cut back on instances of disaster, structural engineering specialists regularly inspect bridges. These professionals perform periodic inspections that are mandated by law to ensure safety and to pinpoint design flaws before they become a major safety hazard. The ultimate goal of bridge inspections is to avoid occurrences similar to the bridge collapse that took place in Minneapolis less than a decade ago. This bridge collapse resulted in the death of a dozen people that were on the bridge during the collapse. In order to increase safety levels and limit this type of risk, bridge inspections have become more commonplace and standards have been increased. There are a few factors that are taken into account when bridges are inspected.

Traffic Patterns

One aspect of bridge design that is inspected regularly includes traffic patterns. The flow of traffic and the weight distribution is something that needs to be monitored and checked regularly in order to ensure that the design of the bridge is built to maintain the existing traffic patterns. Metal expansion and fatigue are structural engineering principles that are taken into consideration when the bridge is constructed, but they also need to be monitored over time to ensure that the bridge design is sufficient. The traffic patterns have to be evaluated and the amount of wear occurring to the bridge as a result needs to be monitored and documented.

Bridge Integrity

Another major component of any bridge inspection involves the inspection of the actual material the bridge is constructed from. This means that the metal is checked for the appearance of rust and for any signs of metal stress. All joints and connections are also evaluated for any noticeable signs of wear that could potentially compromise the integrity of the bridge. The types of railings that are used on the bridge and the quality of the paint used are also inspected to evaluate how effective they are in reducing the occurrence of rust or deterioration.

Maintenance

After each inspection, regular maintenance is performed to address the issues that were most concerning during the inspection. This might involve reinforcing the railings or renovating aspects of the original bridge design. The ultimate goal of bridge inspection and maintenance is to lessen the amount of accidents that occur due to design flaws and inferior bridges. All of the major concerns regarding bridges are taken into consideration during design and then evaluated regularly during bridge inspections to ensure safety at the highest level.

If you are building a bridge or need a bridge inspected, contact structural engineering firms, like Jeffrey Hills and Associates.