FHWA NDE CENTER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Field Bridge Inspection Tasks
Inspectors were asked to complete ten inspection tasks. The collective goal of the tasks was to gain a full understanding of Visual Inspection and the factors influencing its reliability. Tasks A through F were conducted at the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Safety Testing and Research (STAR) Facility while Tasks G through J were conducted at two Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) bridges in Northern Virginia. The following briefly describes the field inspection tasks. Take a look at more
pictorial documentation of inspection tasks.
Field Task A - Routine Inspection, STAR Bridge B521
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| Routine Inspection of Bridge B521 |
Task A consisted of the Routine Inspection of Bridge B521, which is an in-service, single-span, through-girder bridge. Bridge B521 spans 36.0-m (118-ft) and is 6.1-m (20-ft) wide between curbs with a 45-degree skew. The bridge deck is a 229-mm (9-in.) thick cast-in-place reinforced concrete slab and a 64-mm (2 ½-in.) concrete wearing surface with an additional 25-mm (1-in.) thick asphalt overlay. Eleven W30x108 floor beams on approximately 2.74-m (9-ft) centers support the deck. The floor beams are connected to the main girders by riveted, stiffened knee-brace details. The main girders are built-up riveted sections with variable thickness
flanges. Bridge B521 is a fracture critical structure.
Field Task B - Routine Inspection, STAR Bridge B101A
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| Discussion at Bridge B101A. |
Under Task B, inspectors performed a Routine Inspection of the deck, superstructure, and substructure of Bridge B101A, which is a single-span, concrete T-beam bridge. The bridge has a total width of 22.4-m (73-ft 4-in.) with a clear span of 6.81-m (22-ft 4-in.) and a 216-mm (8 ½-in.) thick cast-in-place reinforced concrete slab.
Field Task C - Routine Inspection, STAR Bridge B111A
Task C consisted of the Routine Inspection of Bridge B111A. Bridge B111A is a single-span, concrete T-beam bridge with a clear span of 6.65-m (21-ft 10-in.), just wide enough to accommodate the roadway below. The bridge deck is 216-mm (8 ½-in.) thick cast-in-place reinforced concrete with a 165-mm (6 ½-in.) thick asphalt wearing surface. A longitudinal expansion joint runs the length of the bridge with an alignment shear key.
Field Task D - Routine Inspection, STAR Bridge B543
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| Southern elevation of Bridge B543. |
Task D consisted of the Routine Inspection of Bridge B543. This bridge is a single span, cast-in-place reinforced concrete rigid frame. Bridge B543 is approximately 33.2-m (109-ft) wide and spans approximately 12.8-m (42-ft) at approximately 25-degrees skew. The frame of Bridge B543 consists of an arched reinforced concrete deck slab with the frame thickness varying from 495-mm (1-ft 7 ½-in.) to 991-mm (3-ft 3-in.). The bridge abutments are constructed integrally with the deck while the wing walls are isolated from the abutments by a 25-mm (1-in.) cork filled joint.
Field Task E - Routine Inspection, STAR Bridge B544
Task E consisted of the Routine Inspection of Bridge B544. Several modifications have been made to Bridge B544 to make it a more challenging test specimen for both Routine and In-depth Inspections.
Bridge B544 is a decommissioned, single-span, riveted steel plate girder bridge. The bridge spans 28.7-m (94-ft) and is 21.3-m (70-ft) wide from curb to curb. Bridge B544 is skewed at approximately 25-degrees and has a 229-mm (9-in.) thick cast-in-place reinforced concrete slab with a 152-mm (6-in.) asphalt overlay. The bridge superstructure is quite complex for the overall size of the structure. Three longitudinal, riveted plate girders and a series of alternating floor beams and sway frames support each half of the deck. Additionally, a W18x47 rolled shape runs the length of the bridge along the longitudinal expansion joint.
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| Implanted tack weld crack. |
Field Task F - In-depth Inspection, STAR Bridge B544
Task F consisted of the In-depth Inspection of portions of the Bridge B544 superstructure. Again, note that several modifications were made to Bridge B544 to make it a more challenging test specimen for both Routine and In-depth Inspections.
Field Task G - Routine Inspection, VDOT Route 1 Bridge
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| West elevation of Route 1 Bridge. |
Inspectors were required to complete a Routine Inspection of the southern four span unit of the Route 1 Bridge between the fourth pier and southern abutment, inclusive. Specifically, inspectors were asked to provide condition ratings for the substructure, superstructure, and deck elements. The structure, constructed in 1975, has an overall length of 335-m (1,100-ft) and width of 12.2-m (40-ft), and is separated into two, independent, four-span structures by an expansion joint. The Route 1 Bridge has a steel plate girder superstructure with 1,830-mm (72-in.) deep welded plate girders and variable thickness flanges. Superstructure
framing includes welded transverse and longitudinal stiffeners, bolted angle diaphragms, bolted and welded flange transitions, and an in-plane lateral bracing system.
Field Task H - In-depth Inspection, VDOT Route 1 Bridge
The easternmost bay of the Route 1 bridge superstructure framing between Pier 5 and Pier 6 was used to evaluate the reliability of Visual Inspection for In-depth Inspections. This segment of the structure includes details and defects that are typical of steel superstructures containing fatigue prone details. The bridge inspectors were expected to identify the fatigue prone details and investigate them sufficiently to determine if deficiencies were present. All inspections for this task were performed from an 18.3-m (60-ft) boom lift positioned below the structure.
Field Task I - Routine Inspection Using State Procedures, VDOT Van Buren Road Bridge
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| Van Buren Road bridge. |
To complete Task I, inspectors were expected to prepare, in advance, inspection data sheets they would use in their State for a Routine Inspection. They were then asked to complete a Routine Inspection of the Van Buren Road Bridge using those data sheets. This bridge was constructed around 1960, and consists of three spans, each simply supported with a span length of approximately 18.3-m (60-ft) and an overall width of 8.53-m (28-ft). The deck is 178-mm (7-in.) thick cast-in-place reinforced concrete, composite with four wide-flange stringers with tapered-end, welded, cover plates. Unlike all previous tasks, inspectors from individual states worked as a team to complete this inspection.
Field Task J - In-depth Inspection, VDOT Van Buren Road Bridge
Task J consisted of the In-depth Inspection of the Van Buren Road bridge deck. Inspectors worked as a team on this task and were expected to map all deck delaminations.
Read about the Visual Inspection Study
Read about the Inspectors' Characteristics
Read about the Field Bridge Inspection Tasks
Look at additional pictures of the inspection.
