Target Completion Date: April 30, 2020 Structures
The safe load-carrying capacity (“load rating”) of a structure is a major consideration in prioritizing bridge maintenance activities. Conventional bridge load rating methodologies require design plans and other pertinent information as inputs to the process. In cases where such details are not available, Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) engineers often resort to subjective judgements or costly load testing. The objective of this project is to develop a rational and objective means of rating such structures by building on selected methods developed in Phase I of this research. The work will entail additional modeling, field testing, and analysis of several well documented reinforced concrete slab and T-beam of bridges - treating them as if there were no load rating details available. An additional data-driven approach using existing bridge inventory databases will also be further refined. The goal is to provide VDOT with practical guidance for assessing the load rating of many of its bridges with missing details.
Last updated: July 5, 2023
Please note that this file is not ADA compliant. Choose one of below options:
