Improving bridge inspections: researchers at FHWA are developing innovative nondestructive evaluation technologies to assess the condition of bridges

Public Roads, Nov-Dec, 2003 by Glenn A. Washer

With the variety of prefabricated systems available, bridges need not be "cookie-cutter" designs, but FHWA and the States are developing standardized designs with modular systems to replace the typical 50-year-old "bread-and-butter" bridges that need replacing nationwide. FHWA's Bridges of the Future initiative envisions a bridge with accelerated construction time, adaptability to widening and other demands, and lower life-cycle costs. Prefabricated bridge elements and systems are a step toward this vision.

Mary Lou Rails, P.E., chairs the AASHTO TIG (Technology Implementation Group) on Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems. She serves as director of the Bridge Division at TXDOT where she started as a bridge design engineer in 1984. She earned her bachelor's in civil engineering in 1981 and her master's in structural engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984. Since 1996 she has chaired and worked on various committees for AASHTO, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, and the Transportation Research Board, and published numerous articles on bridge topics.

Benjamin M. Tang, P.E., serves as the senior structural engineer in the Office of Bridge Technology for FHWA and has spent most of his 27-year FHWA career in bridge engineering. He earned his bachelor's in civil engineering from the University of Maryland and his master's in structural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana. He serves on various task forces and committees in bridge design and construction engineering. He has published numerous articles on the technology of fiber-reinforced polymer composites for bridges.

For more information, States and professional organizations may request speakers on prefabricated bridge technology for workshops and conferences by contacting Mary Lou Rails, mralls@dot.state .tx.us, or Benjamin Tang, benjamin, tang@fhwa.dot.gov. Upcoming workshops, conferences, research results, and other opportunities for bridge professionals are announced on the AASHTO TIG Web site www.aashtotig.org, along with links to specific FHWA Web sites on prefabrication and accelerated construction. For information on A plus B bidding, visit www .fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/ contracts or www.ic.usu.edu. For precast prefabricators, check the geographical list of prequalified Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute members at www.pci.org.