FHwA Proposes First Revision of Bridge Inspection Regulations in 10 Years

Industry News / Infrastructure

November 15, 2019

FHwA Proposes First Revision of Bridge Inspection Regulations in 10 Years

The Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) has proposed new federal standards for bridge inspections and inspectors.

According to Engineering News Record, the FHwA is proposing two options for states to set the interval between bridge inspections.

Currently, bridge inspections must occur at least every 24 months, although states can petition for longer intervals.

Under the proposed rule, the first option (Method 1) would be similar to the current rule, although there would be more stringent criteria for designating bridges that need more frequent inspections.

According to the Federal Register, Method 2 “involves the identification and use of an interval that is commensurate with the risk of safety of service loss in a given bridge.”

ENR also reports that the FHwA also proposes new training and certification requirements for inspectors, setting minimum scores on a bridge inspection training course. Further, inspection program managers would have to complete 18 hours of refresher training every five years.

Professional engineers who have six months of bridge-inspection experience would quality to lead an inspection team, and bridge load ratings would have to be done or directly supervised by a PE.

Click here to read the ENR article.

Click here to read the proposed rule in the Federal Register.

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