Long-Term Bridge Performance Program

Program Presentation at Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting

PowerPoint Version (4,233 kb)

FHWA Long-Term Bridge Performance Program

"A Flagship Initiative"

Hamid Ghasemi, Ph.D.
Program Manager
Long-Term Bridge Performance Program
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
Federal Highway Administration
McLean, Virginia

Outline

• Highlights
• Vision
• Methodology
• Focus Group Meetings
• Pilot Study
• Conclusions

Long-Term Bridge Performance Program (LTBP Program)

• Designated in the "SAFETEA-LU" surface transportation authorization legislation (August 2005)
• Anticipated to be a long-term research effort to improve our knowledge of bridge performance
• Funding was authorized through FY-2009

LTBP Program Activities (January 2006 - Present)

• Outreach (i.e., Conferences, Workshops, Meetings)
• Draft Framework (U. of Delaware)
• Workshop in January 2007 (Las Vegas, NV)
  • Participants: FHWA, AASHTO, Other Government Institutions, Academia, Industry, International Bridge Experts
    • Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
    • Specific Data to be Collected
    • Sample Bridges to Test, Evaluate and Monitor

LTBP Program Activities (January 2006 - Present)

• FHWA Bridge Management Information Systems Laboratory
  • Synthesis Report on Bridge Performance
  • Sampling Methodology
  • Data Gaps
  • Deterioration Model

LTBP Program Activities (January 2006 - Present)

• July 2007 (Solicitation)
• April 2008 (Contract Was Awarded to CAIT/Rutgers University)
• May 2008 - Present (Developmental Phase)

Moving the American Economy

Friday, May 2, 2008.

"Acting Federal Highway Administrator Jim Ray"

FHWA Launches Flagship Initiative to Collect Nationwide Data on Highway Bridges - A 20-year research effort to collect data on bridges nationwide will lead to better investment decisions on bridges

Objective

LTBP program is not intended to become a repository of vast amounts of bridge data without consideration of the value of the data in assessing bridge performance

Anticipated Impacts of the LTBP Program

• Advances in deterioration and predictive models
• Effective use of Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
• Improved inspection/condition information thru NDE and SHM
• Support improved design standards
• Improved maintenance practices
• Help foster the next generation of bridge and asset management systems

Approach

• Detailed inspection, periodic objective evaluation and monitoring (from a representative sample of bridges, excluding long-span bridges)
• Forensic autopsies of decommissioned bridges
• Accelerated Testing

Systems Approach

• Collect scientific quality performance data from the nation's highway bridges, as representing critical node-points of the highway transportation network.
• The data and information to be collected is expected to advance our knowledge of how our highway transportation, together with its linkages to other infrastructures, performs as a complex multi-domain system, governed by dynamic interactions between human, natural and engineering systems and elements.

Top-Down/Heuristic Approach

Performance, Measure, Category or Indicators

????

Bridge Performance?

• National Survey
• Number of bridges needing work
• Structural deficiencies and posting
• Condition rating, sufficiency rating and health index
• Deficiencies and load carrying capacity
• Customer satisfaction

Peformance Categories

Which Performance Category is More Critical?

Challenges in Measuring Bridge Performance

• It is not well defined and understood or documented
• Relies too heavily on expert opinion
• Based on significant assumption or generalization
• Uncertainties
  • Subjectivity of current condition ratings
  • Lack of proper documentation (i.e., records of actions and costs, deferring the action)
  • Incomplete data (i.e., cost, maintenance)
  • Many hidden deterioration and damage escape visual inspection

FOCUS GROUP Meetings

• Focus group meetings across a number of geographically distributed locations initiated
• Partnering with practitioners in order to get the information and data that is needed to improve the ong-term performance of our bridge systems
• The program cannot be a one size fits all approach, and should not place additional burdens on highway agencies

FGM and Pilot Study

• Summer 2009
• Detailed inspection and Monitoring of 7 bridges
• Validate protocols and processes
• Viability of the data infrastructure
• Efficacy of sensor technology

John Penrod:
Pilot Study Program manager

Oversight

• Internal Expert Task Group
• External Expert Task Group

Outreach

• AASHTO Subcommittees on Bridges
• Organized a Workshop at TRB
• Presentation at AASHTO Annual Meeting
• SHRP-2 Initiation
• NIST and NSF
• International community
• Plan for Industry Involvement

Conclusions

• A dynamic program
• Not a one-size fit all program
• Not a data-warehouse
• Synergy among the FHWA, stakeholders, industry, academia, international bridge community
• Consider lessons learned from the LTPP
• Successful outreach strategy
• Take advantage of in-house expertise

Conclusions

• Be cognizant of program's limitations

Web-Site and Contact Information

www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/programs/infrastructure/structures/ltbp/

ltbp@dot.gov

Thank You!