Meeting LTBP Program Objectives through Periodical Bridge Condition Monitoring by Nondestructive Evaluation

A comprehensive periodical bridge condition monitoring program by nondestructive evaluation (NDE) will be conducted as a part of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Long Term Bridge Performance Program (LTBPP). The ultimate objective of the NDE monitoring will be to provide high quality quantitative data that will: 1) Enable objective condition monitoring that will be linked to bridge performance parameters, 2) Improve understanding of deterioration processes in bridges and bridge performance, and 3) Advance predictive methods and bridge management practices. The LTBPP is a far more complex program, and the stated objectives will be fully accomplished through integration of all the information received through continuous monitoring by instrumentation, periodical monitoring by NDE, full-scale load testing, bridge autopsies, data mining, etc.