There are many factors that affect and impact the implementation of regular highway bridge inspections and maintenance work. Among these are economic factors, legislative changes, social and political trends, as well as the more immediate influence of weather and meteorological events. In addition, increased traffic and the added stress and road this can create can […]
When it comes to the work required for highway tunnel and bridge repairs, there are two major requirements. These are the funding needed to finance the projects and the specialized equipment that must be used to provide the access needed for the work to be accomplished. Of course, there are several other required elements, such […]
Working on under bridge projects is one of the more challenging aspects of highway bridge and road work. While some bridges can be accessed from underneath with the use of smaller aerial work platforms such as bucket trucks or bucket vans, many highway bridges have span heights that put them beyond the reach of ground-based […]
One of the great things about aerial access equipment, such as bucket trucks and bucket vans, is their wide-ranging utility. While they are commonly used for tasks such as work on power lines, overhead signage, and streetlights, for example, they can be used for much, much more. During certain times of the year, businesses, small […]
The United States is home to over 618,400 highway bridges, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) 2022 Bridge Report. Along with regular cleaning, maintenance, and repair – in addition to periodic rehabilitation – these publicly owned bridges must be inspected routinely. How often highway bridge inspections occur, however, hinges on several […]
The United States is certainly not the oldest nation in the world and there are few structures still standing here that are more than 400 years old, which is incredibly recent by European standards and those of other parts of the globe. A bridge in Greece, for example, is purported to be the oldest bridge […]
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 […]
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, 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 […]
