Materials Selection & Desing

Current State
of Bridge
Deterioration in
the U.S.—Part 1
Seung-Kyoung Lee, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey
This two-part article discusses bridge deterioration
in the United States.Major findings of the
National Bridge Inventory data analysis are
presented in Part 1 to better understand the current
status of the U.S. bridges in terms of bridge
population, material type,structure type, deck
protection systems, and traffic volume. Part 2
(February 2012 MP) will address types of bridge
deterioration caused by corrosion for reinforced
concrete, steel, and prestressedconcrete
bridges. Some emerging technical challenges
are also presented.
According to a Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) corrosion
cost study in 2002, the estimated
total annual direct costof
corrosion in the United States is $276
billion, or 3.1% of the nation’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).1 The average
direct cost of corrosion for highway
bridges is $8.3 billion per year,including
$3.8 billion for replacing structurally
deficient bridges over a 10-year period.
Indirect costs to the users can be more
than 10 times the direct cost of corrosion.
Analysis of NationalBridge Inventory Data
The FHWA annually updates the
National Bridge Inventory (NBI) database
of the bridges longer than 20 ft (6.1
m) on public traffic roads based on mandatory
biennial inspectionreports submitted
by all state departments of transportation
and federal agencies.2 The
FHWA uses the NBI data to submit a
biennial report on the condition of the
nation’s bridges to Congress andidentify
bridges to rehabilitate or replace with
federal aid under the Highway Bridge
Replacement and Rehabilitation Program.
3 While the NBI database contains
individual bridge condition data formore
than 30 years, it is not set up to assess
bridge performance over time, nor is it
able to track historical condition changes
of individual structural elements in each
bridge. Furthermore,...