ABSTRACT
Maintenance of road bridges in a condition to provide safe and uninterrupted traffic flow is the primary aim of every transportation agency. A growing task facing bridge engineers in the near future is the rational assessment of existing bridges and optimum allocation of resources among decisions regarding unqualified acceptance, restricting traffic, rehabilitation or closing existing bridges. Primary among the considerations is the safety aspect. The need is for flexible evaluation options which recognise the site-specific behaviour and account for the frequency and configuration of everyday traffic. The everyday safe load-carrying capacity serves as a basis for many keynote decisions about the bridge. A powerful tool for achieving this goal is a flexible traffic load simulation programme which is easily adjustable to the specific site conditions of the individual bridge.
