ABSTRACT
It is widely accepted that safety and serviceability are primary concerns in bridge design. However, for the most of bridges’ service life, these concerns are addressed indirectly by a qualitative measure, defined herein as condition state, which is based upon observable damages recorded during inspections. Condition state is at best, only loosely correlated to safety and serviceability. It would be more reasonable to address safety and serviceability in inspection process directly, using the information on bridge performance obtained during the design and construction. The future Bridge Management Systems (fBMS) should therefore include this information allowing assessment of safety and serviceability based on inspection results. By including Bridge Information Models that are currently being developed and Structural Health Monitoring, the fBMS will become an invaluable decision-support tool not only for maintenance planning but also for issuing special permits, specification of heavy vehicle corridors, risk assessment due to natural hazards, etc.
