As noted in a previous article, the United States boasts a network of railways that carry almost 30 percent of U.S. freight movement by ton-miles, which is the length and weight of freight travel. These privately owned tracks add up to about 140,000 route miles and are found in every state except for Hawaii. In […]
In the design, construction, and operation of any bridge, there are many technical details that require close inspection and thorough documentation to ensure its safety. One such detail is regular inspection of the bridge during all stages of its life, including during construction and once it’s in operation. There are specific inspection requirements during each […]
Bridges, like people, require maintenance as they get older. And the United States has plenty of aging highway bridges. According to the most recent Infrastructure Report Card published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), there are more than 617,000 bridges across the United States. However, more than 42 percent of those bridges are […]
The trucking industry has estimated that close to 12 billion tons of freight were moved by truck over America’s highways. And according to the American Trucking Association, trucks move roughly 72.5 percent of the nation’s freight by weight. And all those trucks regularly traversed many of the almost 620,000 highway bridges across the nation. But […]
Anyone who works with highway bridges, whether constructing them, maintaining, repairing them, or even inspecting them, their biggest fear is a bridge failure. Keep in mind that a bridge “failure” does not always entail the collapse of a bridge span but can mean the presence of a significant degree of damage. If the damage, regardless […]
Asking what it is about Snooper™ trucks that make them so ideal for bridge inspections might seem like a trick question to veteran bridge inspectors. For many DOTs, engineering firms, and highway contractors, a Snooper™ truck is the epitome of the ultimate bridge inspection vehicle. In fact, the legendary Snooper™ has become almost synonymous with […]
Routine bridge inspections are often anything but “routine.” For most people, engineers included, there is nothing routine about being suspended 175 feet above a green, valley floor. And this in a metal basket attached to the end of a thin, steel boom that’s been lowered from the relative safety of a bridge deck! When you’re […]
Depending on the industry you’re in, the term “bucket truck” might bring to mind different things. For many people, the sight of a utility company boom truck, hoisting a one-man bucket up to the top of a power pole is quite familiar. But a bucket truck is a far more versatile and varied piece of […]
Routine bridge inspections are, more often than not, exactly that: routine. Most of the time, on most highway and railway bridges, there is little or nothing out of the ordinary that comes up. Except when there is. A vivid example of what bridge inspection crews can find while using a Snooper™ truck or other under […]
America’s highway and railway bridges must be continually inspected, repaired, and maintained. And it’s not a small task! As most of those in the industry know, the United States has more than 617,000 bridges and, of these, almost 260,000 of them are 50 years old or more. That’s 42 percent of our bridges, by the […]
