Bridge Asset Condition Maintenance and Improvement through Logical and Cost-Effective Intervention

Project Overview

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) project focuses on bridge asset condition maintenance and improvement in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This initiative aims to enhance the conditions of bridges as part of the National Highway System (NHS) by classifying them as Good, Fair, or Poor based on Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Pavement/Bridge Condition Measures, National Bridge Inventory (NBI) inspection ratings, and the percentage of bridge deck areas. The NCTCOG, which is the Metropolitan Planning Organization covering 16 counties and includes the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) for the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area, has set goals to meet the FHWA’s PM2 targets for bridge conditions. This involves developing a user-friendly tool to identify bridge intervention needs, categorize deficiencies, and recommend feasible interventions to improve bridge ratings, enhance safety, service life, and serviceability. The project includes close collaboration with NCTCOG and RTC and has successfully executed tasks like bridge inspection reviews, defects categorization, data analysis, intervention identification, cost analysis, and the development of user-friendly software for bridge maintenance.

Role Name/Details
Principal Investigator Dr. Nur Yazdani
Graduate Research Assistant Naima Tahsin Zenika

Project Goals

  • Improve bridge conditions to meet Pavement and Bridge Condition Measures (PM2) targets.
  • Develop a user-friendly tool for identifying bridge intervention needs.
  • Proactive approach to prevent deterioration of bridge conditions.
  • Categorize deficiencies and identify feasible interventions for ‘Poor’ and ‘Fair’ rated bridges to enhance safety, service life, and serviceability.
  • Conduct data analysis and cost analysis for informed decision-making on interventions.
  • Develop and disseminate user-friendly software for bridge maintenance, offering intervention suggestions, cost estimates, and benefit-cost ratios.
  • Ensure close collaboration and seamless communication with NCTCOG and RTC to facilitate project activities.

Key Milestones

  • Coordination with NCTCOG and RTC for seamless project communication and collaboration.
  • Bridge Inspection Review of 90 selected bridges in the DFW area, focusing on trends and influential factors.
  • Defects Categorization to impact overall bridge condition using historical data and inspection reports.
  • Data Analysis to identify relationships between overall bridge condition and deficiency categories.
  • Intervention Identification based on identified deficiencies and their impacts on bridge ratings.
  • Cost Analysis using TxDOT unit prices to determine intervention costs and benefit-cost ratios.
  • Development of User-friendly Software for inputting bridge data and obtaining intervention suggestions, cost estimates, and benefit-cost ratios.

About NCTCOG

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is the Metropolitan Planning Organization covering 16 counties. This includes an independent transportation policy body, the Regional Transportation Council (RTC), for the 12-county Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area. NCTCOG plays a crucial role in classifying bridges on the National Highway System (NHS) as Good, Fair, or Poor. This classification is based on the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Pavement/Bridge Condition Measures and the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) inspection ratings, along with the percentage of bridge deck areas. NCTCOG’s objective is to enhance bridge conditions and meet the Pavement and Bridge Condition Measures (PM2) targets, as set by FHWA guidelines. This is achieved through the development of a user-friendly tool that assists in identifying bridge intervention needs. The organization is committed to improving the condition of bridges by setting targets and taking proactive actions to upgrade bridge ratings and prevent their deterioration.

Bridge Classification and Goals

Bridges on the National Highway System (NHS) are classified by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) as ‘Good’, ‘Fair’, or ‘Poor’. This classification is based on the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Pavement/Bridge Condition Measures and the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) inspection ratings, along with the percentage of bridge deck areas. In 2022, NCTCOG set specific targets for bridge conditions on the NHS, aiming for 57.9% of bridges to be in ‘Good’ condition, 40.1% in ‘Fair’ condition, and only 2.0% in ‘Poor’ condition. The goal is to meet or exceed the FHWA’s PM2 targets by taking action to improve the ratings of bridges currently classified as ‘Poor’ to at least ‘Fair/Good’, and those rated as ‘Fair’ to ‘Good’. This proactive approach is crucial to prevent bridges currently rated as ‘Fair’ from deteriorating to ‘Poor’ and to ensure bridges in ‘Good’ condition do not decline to ‘Fair’ or ‘Poor’ ratings.

Project Implementation

The project, initiated by the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) team, involved selecting 109 bridges from the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area for inspection and review. These inspections were conducted using the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) AssetWise database. The team focused on categorizing deficiencies in bridges rated as ‘Poor’ and ‘Fair’, identifying feasible interventions to improve their ratings. This process aimed to enhance the bridges’ safety, service life, and serviceability. Additionally, measures were suggested to prevent bridges rated as ‘Fair’ from declining to ‘Poor’ and to keep bridges in ‘Good’ condition from falling to lower ratings. An integral part of this project was the development of user-friendly software designed to aid in suggesting interventions for bridge components, including the calculation of expected costs and benefit-cost ratios. A dissemination and training workshop was also conducted to enhance the usability and effectiveness of the software. The project underscored the importance of close collaboration with the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) in all its phases.