The main objective of routine bridge safety inspections is to ensure that bridges are safe for the public. Whether it is vehicles or pedestrians, structures must remain safe and have the ability to carry commuters driving to work, families traveling for vacation, trucks hauling materials and goods, etc. Bridge safety inspections also assist agencies and policymakers in deciding which structures need repairs and the overall condition of a city, county, or state’s bridge inventory.
In Michigan, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has the Local Bridge Program (LBP). This program helps cities and counties with the funding needed to repair and replace bridges. Each of MDOT’s seven regions gets a specific amount of LBP funding each year. Part of what determines the amount of funding each region receives is the amount of deficient deck area in that region, i.e., a region with 100,000 sft of deficient deck area will receive more funding than a region with 50,000 sft of deficient deck area. The National Bridge Inventory (NBI) ratings on the Bridge Safety Inspection Reports indicate whether a bridge is in poor condition and has deficient deck area.
So, for those that perform routine bridge safety inspections, be honest and as accurate as possible with your ratings. In addition to considering the safety of the traveling public, your inspections also influence how and where funding is spent, and which structures are repaired or replaced. If an agency has several structures in poor condition, it does no good to look into the past and try and point fingers at why they are in poor condition. Rather, we should try to provide accurate data and improve the condition of those structures moving forward.