ABSTRACT
In Chile, the collapse of bridges has produced an economic and social cost increase. Recently, a review regarding the historical collapses in Chile has defined three main categories of the causes of those collapses: 1) design criteria of the bridge: failure in the predictions of load traffic (overweight or dimension) or resistant capacity of the main structural elements of the bridge; 2) accidental loads due to climate change or high intensity of the hazard associated mainly with earthquakes, debris currents and tsunamis; 3) the maintenance of the bridge: lack maintenance or inspection program with poor frequency, not enough suitable to preserve their original performance. This paper discusses these topics, presenting several case studies of these categories and proposes a specific program to be applied in the Manual de Carreteras of Chile (Chilean design, construction and maintenance code).
