Analysis of Recent Bridge Failures in the United States
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 17, Issue 3
Abstract
Over 500 failures of bridge structures in the United States between 1989 and 2000 were studied. The age of the failed bridges ranged from 1 year (during construction) to 157 years, with an average of 52.5 years. The most frequent causes of bridge failures were attributed to floods and collisions. Flood and scour, with the major flood disaster in 1993, contributed to the frequency peak of bridge failures (almost 53% of all failures). Bridge overload and lateral impact forces from trucks, barges/ships, and trains constitute 20% of the total bridge failures. Other frequent principal causes are design, detailing, construction, material, and maintenance. Comparison made among three periods of similar studies (1977–1981, 1982–1988, and 1989–2000) revealed almost similar trends, with most failures occurring during the bridge’s service life. Also, human-induced external events occurred frequently in all three periods, but were most dominant in the first and third periods. Technological advances in information systems have a great impact on data collection and analysis.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 17 • Issue 3 • August 2003
Pages: 144 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 28, 2002
Accepted: Jul 9, 2002
Published online: Jul 15, 2003
Published in print: Aug 2003
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