Annual Bridge Inspections to Start

The arrival of autumn weather brings changing leaves, cooler temperatures, football games and for the Missouri Department of Transportation, annual bridge inspections. MoDOT bridge maintenance crews are stepping into high gear to make sure all bridges on state routes as well as county roads are carefully examined. Seven MoDOT bridge inspectors will inspect approximately 900 state bridges and close to 2000 county bridges in the Northwest area. On major river bridge crossings, crews out of Jefferson City help provide access for inspection with specialized equipment such as snooper trucks and platform trailers. All inspections will be completed by April1 2013. "The main duty of the bridge inspector is to ensure that bridges are safe for the traveling public," says MoDOT District Bridge Engineer Scott Stephens. The bridges are examined for signs of deterioration, section loss, cracked or broken parts, rotten timber, signs of settlement, evidence of scour around foundation, and loose or missing parts and then assigned condition ratings. Each bridge is rated on three elements: the deck, the superstructure (connection between supports) and the substructure (the ground supports). Bridges that receive a rating of three or four must be inspected each year - about 1,400 bridges are included in this category statewide. Most bridges require some type of maintenance upon inspection. Common maintenance includes cleaning, sealing joint cracks, deck sealing, repairing concrete decks, replacing rotten timber, and removing drift. "Bridge inspections are performed in the fall and winter months because vegetation is down, water levels are usually lower and some of our maintenance activities are usually suspended due to the cold weather," Stephens said. "Inspecting in fall and winter also frees the summer months for our underwater inspection program." Following the assessments, the bridge inspectors compile several lists designed to provide the districts with information regarding the condition of their bridges and ideas for future programming needs to ensure bridge safety for motorists. Statewide there are 55 Mississippi and Missouri river crossings in Missouri - the most major river bridges of any state in the nation, and the department maintains about 10,000 bridges in Missouri. MoDOT conducts about 8,500 bridge inspections a year to evaluate the condition of these bridges. All Missouri bridges are inspected at least every other year - a national standard set by the Federal Highway Administration. However, the department routinely inspects its bridges more often than federally required; many of them are inspected every year. If problems are found, the bridge is inspected more often to monitor the situation carefully. For more information about other MoDOT projects, call 1-888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) or visit www.modot.org/northwest and view the online Traveler Information Map. In addition, provides updated information on www.facebook.com/MoDOTNWDistrict and www.twitter.com/MoDOTNorthwest.