Outline of-the Management of Bridges and other Highway Structures
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Inspections
3. Data Storage and the Bridge Management System (BMS)
4. Maintenance 1. Programming Maintenance Works 2. Minor Maintenance 3. Reactive and Emergency Works 4. Major Maintenance, Strengthening and Replacement
5. Highway Structures Owned and Maintained by Third Parties 1. The Load Bearing Obligations of Network Rail and British Waterways
6. Managing Structures that Cause Restrictions on the Highway 1. Weight Restrictions 2. Height Restrictions 3. Width Restrictions
8. Abnormal Load Movements and the Assessment of Structures. 1. Abnormal Load Movements 2. ESDAL 3. The Assessment of Structures
9. The Management of Bridges On and Near the District Boundaries
10. Future Bridge Management Requirements
2 1. Introduction.
There are in excess of one thousand highway structures in the District. These include bridges, retaining walls, culverts, sign ganrtries and pedestrian subways.
Not all of these structures are owned by the Council, some are owned by other organisations such as Network Rail and British Waterways however as the Highway Authority the Council has a duty to ensure they are all maintained in a safe and functional condition.
This the Council achieves by employing the following procedures. Undertaking routine inspections to ensure public safety and identify maintenance needs. Undertaking minor maintenance works identified by routine inspections. Programming and executing maintenance work to minimise inconvenience to the travelling public. Undertaking reactive and emergency repairs resulting from traffic accidents and vehicle damage. Undertaking major maintenance and replacement works where structures have reached the end of their service life. Imposing protection measures such as weight restrictions and traffic signals on weak or impaired bridges. Retaining structures data and information on a comprehensive computerised database. Checking the suitability and construction of all new highway structures through the Technical Approvals process. Ensuring bridges owned by other organisations are maintained in a safe condition. Managing the safe movement of oversized or overweight vehicles known as abnormal loads through the district. Predicting future aspirations for highway structures through consultation and feasibility studies.
3 2. Inspections
Highway Structures are routinely inspected to ensure they remain safe for public use. The inspections also provide the data required to support good management practice in accordance with the Road Liaison Groups document: Management of Highway Structures, A Code of Practice.
Maintenance work to Council owned structures is identified by inspection and placed in the works program according to priority.
Structures owned and maintained by other organisations such as Network Rail, and British Waterways are also inspected and any outstanding maintenance works notified to the organisation concerned.
All highway structures are routinely inspected in the following cycle:
Principal Inspection carried out not at intervals not greater than six years.
A close examination within touching distance of all accessible parts of the structure. Specialised access equipment may be required.
General Inspection carried out not more than 2 years following the previous General or Principal Inspection.
A visual examination of all parts of the structure where special access equipment is not required.
Superficial Inspection carried out not more than 2 years following the previous Superficial on all private structures.
A visual examination of all parts of private structures where special access equipment is not required.
Routine Surveillance general surveillance by Highways Inspectors as part of regular Highway Safety Inspections.
A visual examination identifying obvious defects requiring urgent attention e.g. damage to parapets, superstructure, joints.
The following inspections are carried out after one of the above inspections has identified certain defects:
Safety Inspections carried out after routine surveillance or after information is received that indicates the structure is damaged. 4
Inspections for Assessment carried out after a particular defect is identified in a previous inspection that may affect the structures load carrying capacity.
Special Inspection carried out after a particular defect is identified in a previous inspection or event e.g. flooding, scour, vehicle impact damage.
Acceptance Inspections carried out due to a transfer of responsibility.
5 3. Data Storage and the Bridge Management System
A computerised database is maintained which contains information about bridges and other highway structures including information about their condition at the time of their last inspection. The database will also compare the condition of any one structure to the condition of the other structures thereby enabling maintenance works to be prioritised and target the structures in the poorest condition.
Striving to achieve the standards of Asset Management and Performance Measurement of Highway Structures recommended in the recently published Code of Practice and referred to in the Councils LTP2 document is essential.
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4. Maintenance 4.1. Programming Maintenance Works. When programming maintenance work care is taken to minimise inconvenience to the travelling public by: Selecting a repair method or technique that will cause minimal obstruction of the highway. Providing traffic management appropriate to the type of road and expected traffic flows. Programming works with regard to other road works in the area and the availability of diversion routes.
4.2. Minor Maintenance The bridge inspection regime is the main source of information identifying the routine maintenance requirements of the structures stock. There are complex formulae within the Bridge Management System that prioritise the maintenance works identified by the routine inspections and from this an annual programme of maintenance work is drawn up. Typical minor works are repointing and brickwork repairs, the repair and replacement of handrails and parapets, repairs to protective coatings and the repair or replacement of expansion joints.
Graffiti is removed from structures if it is considered to be offensive or unsightly. Subways most commonly fall victim to graffiti and to counter this most of them have been painted with anti-graffiti paint and are inspected and cleaned on a monthly basis.
4.3. Reactive and Emergency Repairs. Vehicle collisions can severely damage highway structures and leave them in an unsafe condition. In the worst cases this results in temporary road closures and diversions until the necessary repairs can be made.
4.4. Major maintenance, Strengthening and Replacement. As a structure approaches the end of its design life or service life it will usually become uneconomical to repair and will require replacement. A structure may also become due for replacement if it represents a restriction to the highway through being, for example, too narrow, under strength or unsuitable for disabled use.
Recently Completed Bridge Replacement and Strengthening Schemes: Ongoing Bridge Replacement and Strengthening Schemes: 7
5. Highway Structures Owned and Maintained by Third Parties.
Structures on highways may be owned and maintained by third parties. Network Rail, the Highways Agency, the Environment Agency, British Waterways, local land owners and businesses all own bridges and structures that affect the highway in some way.
Routine Superficial inspections of these structures are undertaken to ensure they are maintained in a condition that will not endanger the travelling public. The Council will notify the bridge owner if a bridge is found to be in a dangerous condition and take enforcement action if the owner fails to take remedial action.
5.1. The load bearing obligations of Network Rail and British Waterways. Most of the bridges that have weight restrictions are owned by either Network Rail or British Waterways. Due to an anomaly in highway legislation these organisations have a legal obligation to maintain their bridges to 24 tonnes to an old assessment standard known as BE4. However the permissible maximum weight of vehicles using the highway is currently 40 tonnes. The Highway Authority is required to assess the strength of bridges to a more modern standard than BE4 known as BD21/01. This is more onerous than BE4 hence some Network Rail and British Waterways bridges have weight restrictions on them less than 24 tonnes.
Network Rails bridges were recently assessed jointly with Network Rail in accordance with a protocol agreed nationally between The County Surveyor's Society and Network Rail for the protection of Network Rails bridges.
Ownership strengthening of strategically important bridges has been taken over by the local authority.
8 6. Managing Structures that cause Restrictions to the Highway
There are three ways in which bridges can restrict or impair highway usage, weight restrictions, height restrictions, and width restrictions.
6.1. Weight Restrictions There are two types or weight restriction, environmental and structural. Environmental restrictions are applied to lengths of road that are unsuitable to carry heavy vehicles and are not related to bridges. Structural weight restrictions are applied specifically to protect weak bridges.
Most of bridges with weight restrictions are owned by Network Rail and British Waterways. This is for the reasons explained in paragraph 5.1. The load bearing obligations of Network Rail and British Waterways. These bridges are all on minor roads and the weight restrictions have no significant affect on vehicle movements and would be of no benefit to strengthen due to the restriction on the swing bridge.
6.2. Height (or Headroom) Restrictions The standard minimum clearance over every part of the carriageway of a public highway is 16 feet six inches (5.03 metres). Height restrictions are managed by the provision of advance warning signs on routes leading to the bridge and statutory signs at the bridge. There are more technically advanced warning methods available for bridges that are repeatedly struck by high vehicles. These are usually installed at the behest of Network Rail, however they can be problematic and there are currently no bridges in West Berkshire that warrant their use.
Generally the cost inhibits raising the headroom under any of the Network Rail owned structures. There has, in the past, been requests for the demolition of both Compton and Marston Road disused bridges however public opinion is currently opposed to this as the bridges are now perceived to be performing important traffic management functions.
6.3. Width Restrictions There are various ways of managing width restrictions to the highway caused by narrow bridges. The most suitable method will depend on various site conditions such as the severity of the restriction, traffic flows and sight lines. Narrow bridges may restrict either the carriageway width or footway widths. If traffic flows and sight lines allow priority traffic signs are usually the preferred option. On busier roads or where safety is a concern traffic signals are used.
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7. Technical Approval and Commuted Sums
7.1 Technical Approval The Highway Authority ensures that all structures which are constructed over, under or next to the public highway are constructed to an acceptable standard by requiring them to achieve Technical Approval. Some highway structures may remain in private ownership but in most cases the highway autjhority will adopt or take ownership of the new structures. In either instance Technical Approval is required.
In normal circumstances only structures that are a necessary part of the highway and constructed on highway land will be considered for adoption. These may include road bridges, public footbridges, culverts, retaining walls that support the highway and sign gantries. When the highway authority agrees to adopt a structure an adoption Agreement will be drawn up.
Structures that remain in private ownership require Technical Approval only. These may include private road bridges and footbridges over the highway, retaining walls more than 1.5 metres high above ground level that support property or land adjacent to the highway, support structures for pipes and conveyers which cross the highway, basements which support the highway, parts of buildings which cross or overhang the highway, temporary structures intended for public use etc. Private structures which cross the highway also require a licence which will be drawn up by the highway authority.
7.2 Commuted Sums When the highway authority is required to adopt a new structure from a private enterprise or developer it will usually require them to pay a Commuted Sum. The commuted sum is equal to the costs the authority may expect to incur for maintenance, inspection and renewal of the structure and is usually calculated over a period of one hundred and twenty years. 10
8. Abnormal Load Movements
8.1 Abnormal Load Movements An abnormal load is a vehicle that is outside the classification of normal permitted traffic by virtue of its gross weight, length, width or axle configuration according to current road vehicle regulations. In accordance with The Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) General Order 2003 the movement of abnormal or STGO loads should be notified to the relevant Highway Authority or Authorities.
The appointed agent receives notifications for the movement of abnormal loads and STGO vehicles on non-trunk roads.
The movement of abnormal loads needs to be carefully managed so that large and heavy vehicles only use those parts of the road network that can safely accommodate them.
Hauliers of abnormal loads are required to notify the appointed Abnormal Loads Officer at J acobs. The bridges on the notified route are then assessed in accordance with the current requirements of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (BD 86/01) and the code of Practice for the Management of Highway Structures. If any of the bridges on the route are considered too weak to bear the abnormal load it will be re-routed. If no suitable alternative route is available special measures to increase the load bearing capacity of the bridge may be considered.
8.2 ESDAL ESDAL stands for "Electronic Service Delivery for Abnormal Loads Project". Once fully implemented ESDAL will be a national one-stop web-based portal to assist route planning and automated notification of abnormal load movements. At present, before moving an abnormal load, hauliers must notify a number of authorities, including the Highways Agency, Agents, Local Authorities, private bridge owners and the Police. This is a lengthy process and is entirely manual, based on the use of faxes to exchange and agree information. The ESDAL project will simplify this process, significantly reducing the amount of time it takes for everyone involved in the process to plan, notify and approve the movement of an abnormal load. 11 8.3 The Assessment of Structures Highway structures are assessed to establish their ability to carry the loads which are imposed upon them. The assessment provides valuable information for managing the safety and serviceability of highway structures. The road bridges in the area were last assessed under a national programme of assessment undertaken in the mid 1980s.
In accordance with the recommendations of the new Code of Practice the highway authority is currently undergoing a Structural Review. This involves revisiting the existing assessment information and from this developing a prioritised reassessment programme.
12 9. The Management of Bridges On or Near District Boundaries.
To avoid any confusion bridges near to or on the boundaries are subject to Maintenance Agreements whereby the maintenance of the bridge is delegated to one or other of the Authorities.. The authority remains in close consultation with all neighbouring Authorities regarding bridge restrictions and maintenance works that may affect the highway network beyond its boundaries.
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13 10. Future Bridge Management Requirements.
In September 2005 The Roads Liaison Group launched a Code of Practice for the Management of Highway Structures. Prior to the publication of the Code of Practice there was no overarching document available to guide bridge owners on good maintenance practice and this has led to differing practices across the country. The purpose of the code is to standardise practice thereby providing better information regarding the condition of bridges across the county and so determine future funding requirements.
The authoritys current practice generally aligns very well with the basic recommendations made in the new code of practice. It is the authoritys intention to become fully compliant with the code within the recommended time frame of 5 years by the development of asset management principles set out in the new code.