TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2407 consists of 8 papers that examine surface wave measurements to characterize surface-breaking cracks in concrete bridge decks; a portable seismic property analyzer to assess Colorado’s hanging lake tunnel liner; ultrasonic tomography to detect structural impairment in tunnel linings; and field monitoring of rebar debonding in concrete bridge…
TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2406 consists of 10 papers that analyze imposed bridge load stresses for development of a European bridge formula; design of ultrahigh-performance concrete waffle deck for Accelerated Bridge Construction; anchor bolt steel strength in annular stand-off base plate connections; thermal analysis of highway overhead support structures; and signal head…
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 778: Bridge Stormwater Runoff Analysis and Treatment Options presents information and an analysis process for identifying cost-effective, pollution-reducing strategies for management of stormwater runoff from highway bridges. Read NCHRP Report 778
The Florida Department of Transportation has released a report that assesses the use of carbon fiber composite cables in lieu of conventional steel prestressing strands in bridge foundations. Read the Report
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released a tech brief that defines long-term bridge performance (LTBP) and discusses the importance of measuring bridge performance and practices. Read the Tech Brief
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has released a report that summarizes a workshop focused on the foundations of bridges over dry land and waterways. Read the Report
AASHTO Journal, 6 December 2013 The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has just released the Manual for Bridge Element Inspection, 1st Edition, developed by the AASHTO Highways Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures. This new bridge inspection manual is a reference for standardized element definitions, element quantity calculations, and condition state definitions and is designed to assist…
AASHTO’s quarterly maintenance newsletter is now available. The newsletter contains information related to: Equipment Technical Working Group Highway Safety and Reliability Technical Working Group Bridge Technical Working Group Pavements Technical Working Group Roadway / Roadsides Technical Working Group ACPA, ISSA, and SSPC Web-based Training Opportunities Maintenance Leadership Academy Federal Funds for In-House Work Survey 2014 Summer Meeting Information Download…
Better Roads, 22 November 2013 Tina Grady Barbaccia Despite that the nation’s transportation funding system is in great peril as the expiration of the current surface transportation funding bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), is set to expire on September 30, 2014, many state agencies expect to be able to lower their number of functionally…
Better Roads, 8 November 2013 Tina Grady Barbaccia Better Roads Magazine’s exclusive survey of bridge conditions in the United States shows that every year the percentage of overall structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges slightly improves, but for most states consistent, guaranteed funding remains a major roadblock to making bigger strides in this important infrastructure. Methodology: The Better Roads…
Better Roads, 6 November 2013 Tina Grady Barbaccia Every year, Better Roads conducts a survey on the state of the nation’s bridges. The survey has been conducted since 1979. Bridge engineers from every state and Washington, D.C., are sent a survey with both qualitative and quantitative questions to determine the percentage of structurally deficient (SD) and functionally obsolete (FO)…
TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) has released a project brief that describes a guide designed to provide information and define procedures to systematically design new and existing bridges for service life and durability. Read the Project Brief
By Lorella Angelini, International Concrete Repair Institute According to the National Bridge Inventory, there are more than 600,000 highway bridges in the United States. Most of these bridges (98%) are owned by state and local governments, whereas the remaining 2% are federally or privately owned. The average age of these bridges is 45 years with more than 30% exceeding…
AASHTO has published a new newsletter. Read the Inaugural Copy
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest 61: Legal Aspects of Performance-Based Specifications for Highway Construction and Maintenance Contracts explores how performance-based specifications differ from traditional design or method-based specifications and the risk allocation differences between the these methods. Read NCHRP Legal Research Digest 61
APRIL 2013 Caltrans Creates New Specification for Construction of Quiet Bridge Deck Surfaces Noise from bridges is an ongoing problem along U.S. highway systems, and efforts at noise mitigation can be costly as well as time-consuming. For example, sound walls, which work by interrupting the pathway between a noise source and the receiver, are often constructed along bridges that…
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 441: High Performance Concrete Specifications and Practices for Bridges documents the types of specifications and practices used by state transportation agencies to produce high performance concrete for bridges. The report also identifies specifications and practices reported as having improved concrete performance and those that have been less successful. Read the NCHRP Synthesis…
AASHTO News, 19 March 2013 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), commends the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for its comprehensive assessment of the nation’s current infrastructure conditions and needs. The 2013 Report Card finds that inadequate investment has resulted in deteriorating U.S. infrastructure. “This Report Card accentuates the need for a…
TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2313 discusses 21 papers on topics including general structures; steel bridges; concrete bridges; field testing and nondestructive evaluation of transportation structures; tunnels and underground structures; culverts and hydraulic structures; structural fiber-reinforced polymers; and critical transportation infrastructure protection. Read TRR Journal Number 2313
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