U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000


Skip to content
Facebook iconYouTube iconTwitter iconFlickr iconLinkedInInstagram

Focus

Federal Highway Administration / Publications / Focus / September 2006

Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations

Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-06-029
Date: September 2006

Getting Started with the Pontis Bridge Management System

Get to know the Pontis® Bridge Management System with the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) new CD and online tutorial. "Getting Started with Pontis 4.4" introduces users to the Pontis software, which was initially developed by FHWA and is now available from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) as an AASHTOWare® product.

Pontis can be used to store highway bridge inventory and inspection data and make recommendations for projects to be included in an agency's capital improvement program, so as to achieve the maximum benefit from limited funds. The software provides a systematic procedure for allocating resources to the preservation and improvement of highway bridges by considering both the costs and benefits of maintenance policies versus investments in improvements or replacement.

The new Pontis training CD and online tutorial will serve as a supplement to FHWA's National Highway Institute (NHI) course, Pontis Bridge Management (Course No. FHWA-NHI-134056). "It provides a good introduction to the software and to the more comprehensive NHI training course," says Carl M. Highsmith of FHWA's Office of Asset Management. The CD has a "You Try It" bonus feature not available in the online tutorial that works simultaneously with Pontis to demonstrate the topics being covered in the training, if the user already has Pontis installed and opened.

A photo of a bridge.
Pontis provides a systematic procedure for allocating resources to the preservation and improvement of highway bridges.

The training CD will be distributed to States through the FHWA division offices. A limited number of CDs will also be available through FHWA's Office of Asset Management. The online tutorial and "You Try It" version of the training will be available this month at www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/asstmgmt/pontis. For more information, contact Wade F. Casey at FHWA, 202-366-4606 (email: wade.casey@fhwa.dot.gov), or Carl M. Highsmith at FHWA, 202-366-1567 (email: carl.highsmith@fhwa.dot.gov). To learn more about obtaining Pontis, visit www.aashtoware.org (choose "Software" and then "Pontis").

Back to Articles in this Issue

Updated: 06/27/2017
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000