Preserving the Future of Pennsylvania Bridges
For the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT), bridge
maintenance is not just about fixing bridges when they break down: It's
about using preventive maintenance to breathe new life into not-so-new
bridges and take care of structures before they have the chance to deteriorate.
A new video produced by PENNDOT, Pennsylvania Bridges: Maintaining
the Past-Preserving the Future, highlights the agency's maintenance
practices and provides an overview of the importance of bridge preservation.
Pennsylvania maintains the third largest number of State bridges in
the country, spending $300 million on 250 bridge projects each year.
PENNDOT has found that both proper and frequent inspections and a good
preventive maintenance program are vital to extending performance, keeping
costs down, and ensuring safety. "Spending a relatively small amount
of money today will save us large amounts of money tomorrow," says
Gary Hoffman, Chief Engineer of PENNDOT.
Preventive maintenance is defined as a planned strategy of cost-effective
treatments applied at the proper time to preserve and extend the useful
life of a bridge. Bridge maintenance activities that provide the biggest
benefit for the smallest level of investment generally include:
- Eliminating deck joints in old bridges
- Repairing or installing new expansion dams on bridge decks
- Repairing bridge decks
- Maintaining proper deck drainage
- Restoring or replacing bridge bearings
- Repairing or replacing bridge approach slabs
- Repairing bridge beam ends and beam bearing areas
- Bridge painting.
An effective preventive maintenance program can't be carried out without
good information on bridge conditions. PENNDOT's team of 50 bridge inspectors
works with numerous other consultant inspectors to inspect all of the
agency's bridges at least once every 2 years. The bridge data is then
stored in a management system, allowing engineers to prioritize the
maintenance, preservation, and rehabilitation needs and make smart decisions
as to how to best take care of the bridge infrastructure.
As the video stresses, adequate funding is needed to sustain preventive maintenance
efforts. Last winter, for example, an expansion dam came apart on a
bridge on Interstate 81 near Scranton. After the metal plate broke loose,
more than two dozen cars got flat tires, others sustained damage to
their undercarriage, and one car crashed into the guard rail. Fortunately,
no serious injuries occurred. "But this incident could have been
prevented if we had had the money to make the proper repairs before
the situation became serious," says Chuck Mattei, District Engineer
of PENNDOT's District Four Office near Scranton. "There must be
a recognition and willingness to do the maintenance and preservation
work with the first available dollars, not the last," adds Hoffman.
"No matter how smooth a road feels or how good it looks, ultimately
it is only as good as the bridge that will eventually connect it."
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| PENNDOT has found that a good bridge preventive maintenance
program is vital to extending perfomance. In the photo above, joint
sealing is performed a Route 30 bridge in York County. |
An additional source of funding for preventive maintenance and the
preservation of highway bridges became available in January 2002, when
FHWA announced that Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program
funds could be used to perform preventive maintenance on highway bridges.
Examples of preventive maintenance activities eligible for funding include:
replacing leaking joints, applying deck overlays that will significantly
increase the service life of the deck, painting the structural steel,
and applying electrochemical chloride extraction treatments to decks
and substructure elements.
 |
| A crew installs a temporary timber deck on a bridge in Mt.
Joy. |
To obtain a copy of the video or for more information on bridge preservation
and Federal aid funding, contact your local FHWA division office or
Ray McCormick at FHWA, 202-366-4675 (email: raymond.mccormick@fhwa.dot.gov).
For more information on Pennsylvania's bridge preservation program,
contact Gary Hoffman at PENNDOT, 717-787-6898 (email: ghoffma@dot.state.pa.us).
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Articles in this issue:
Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems: A Winning
Idea
Boosting Roadway Safety with Rumble Strips
Preserving the Future of Pennsylvania Bridges
Work Zone Research from A to Z
Design Guide Offers New Look at Mitigating Highway
Rockfall Hazards
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