ABSTRACT
Bridge management methods are becoming more and more sophisticated and costly. However, the goal of bridge management is sometimes lost in the desire to collect more and more data. The basic aim should always be to identify critical defective bridges to implement timely interventions. The cost of inspections must be balanced against budgets actually allocated towards repair. Prioritization lists of defective bridges must make sense or else the credibility of the management system will be brought into disrepute. The South African national Roads Agency SOC Ltd in common with other state institutions, uses a defects based system, referred to as the DER System, for inspections and not a condition based system. Outlined in the paper is inspection requirements and how structures are categorized from good to critical using the “deduct method” of prioritization. The simple calculation of how the asset values of bridges are determined is also outlined.
