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Federal Highway Administration
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Washington, DC 20590
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Bridges & Structures

 

Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Bridges and Structures

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a set of technologies and processes used to create a 3-dimentional virtual model of a project. This 3-D virtual model contains all project information that may be from more than one source. The information from that 3-D virtual model can be shared, used, reused, and exchanged among stakeholders of the project.

The application of BIM in infrastructure projects is growing both nationally and internationally, based on information from a pooled fund initiative. As BIM matures with voluntary and non-binding Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) data schema and exchange file format being established, the bridge design and construction industry is recognizing the benefits of digital bridge project delivery. Bridge owners are interested in those benefits as well including reduction in both initial cost of construction and the whole life cycle cost of bridges; reduction in the overall time from planning and preliminary design to completion for new construction followed by inspection and maintenance of bridges; and increase of return on investment of BIM in infrastructure.

FHWA Resources

FHWA Efforts in Advancing BIM for Bridges and Structures

FHWA Ongoing Research

External Resources

Updated: 07/18/2024
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000