ABSTRACT
The history of bridge engineering is a story of human innovation. As long as humans have existed there has been a need to bridge gaps such as streams, gullies, canyons etc. The history of bridge management and bridge management systems (BMS) is also a story of innovation as bridge owners eventually began to be responsible for many structures, constructed using various materials, exposed to varying demands. BMS are powerful computer solutions that help bridge owners responsibly manage lifecycle costs, risk, determine optimized priority programs, report current and forecasted condition and other performance measures. Today BMS help sustainably maintain the inventory while considering a variety of socio-economic factors and are proving instrumental in helping owners manage the effects of climate change and extreme weather.
In this lecture, we will take a high level review of bridge management practices in the past, present, and postulate where bridge management might be heading in the future.
