FHWA Bridge Inspector’s Manual Section 5—Bridge Decks - a PDH Online Course for Engineers, Architects and Surveyors

FHWA Bridge Inspector’s Manual Section 5—Bridge Decks

Course Outline

This six-hour online course discusses timber, concrete, and steel decks(design characteristics, wearing surfaces, protective systems, common defects, inspection procedures and locations, and evaluation of condition). The course also discusses deck joints, drainage systems, lighting and signs (function, components, common problems, inspection procedures and locations, and evaluation of condition). Furthermore the course discusses safety features such as bridge railings, transitions, approach guardrail, approach guardrail ends (function, identification, and evaluation of condition).

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Be familiar with design characteristics for timber, concrete, and steel decks;
Know wearing surfaces for timber, concrete, and steel decks;
Be cognizant of protective systems for timber, concrete, and steel decks;
Understand principles of common defects for timber, concrete, and steel decks;
Be acquainted with inspection procedures and locations for timber, concrete, and steel decks;
Recognize the principles of evaluation for timber, concrete, and steel decks;
Be familiar with the function of deck joints, drainage systems, lighting and signs;
Know components of deck joints, drainage systems, lighting and signs;
Be cognizant of common problems of deck joints, drainage systems, lighting and signs;
Understand inspection procedures and locations for deck joints, drainage systems, lighting and signs;
Be acquainted with the principles of evaluation of deck joints, drainage systems, lighting and signs;
Recognize the principles of safety embodied in basic components: bridge railings, transitions, approach guardrail, approach guardrail ends;
Be familiar with evaluation procedures for safety components;
Know principles of identification and appraisal for safety components;
Be cognizant of safety aspects of median barriers;
Understand principles of safety feature inspection;
Be acquainted with safety features design criteria; and
Recognize the principles of crash testing criteria in ensuring component safety.

Intended Audience

This course is intended primarily for civil, construction, and structural engineers, and would be of particular interest to consulting engineers or to engineers serving in government organizations concerned with the safety of bridges.

Benefit to Attendees

An attendee of this course will be familiar with the characteristics of bridge decks and will be able to apply this knowledge in bridge inspections.

Course Introduction

Three different deck materials are used: timber, steel, and concrete. Timber bridges make up approximately 7% of the bridges listed in the National Bridge Inventory (NBI).Furthermore, approximately 7% of the bridges categorized as steel bridges in the NBI also have timber decks.Stel decks are found on many older bridges and moveable bridges. Their popularity grew until concrete decks were introduced. Today, steel bridge deck shave various advantages and disadvantages, depending on the application, and are mainly used for bridge deck rehabilitation or for very long spans .Concrete is the most widely used deck material because its physical properties permit placing in various shapes and sizes, providing the bridge designer and the bridge builder with a variety of construction methods. This course discusses various aspects of the use of these deck materials.

Course Content

This course is based on Section 5 (Inspection and Evaluation of Bridge Decks) of the Federal Highway Administration Bridge Inspector’s Reference Manual, Publication No. FHWA NHI 03-001, October, 2002, Revised December, 2006.

FHWA Bridge Inspector’s Manual Section 5—Bridge Decks

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Course Summary

The characteristics of bridge decks are described in a manner useful for conducting bridge inspections.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/bripro.htm

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.