Bridges and structures – Assessments

Assessments of existing bridge structures are completed to determine the optimum long-term solution for maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement to maximize the service life of the structure at a minimum life cycle cost. Guidelines for bridge assessments, covering identifying deficiencies, developing strategies, and completing life cycle cost analysis, are in the following document:

• Bridge Assessment Guidelines (Version 1.0)

A technical description of potential bridge management actions to be considered within bridge assessments, including where they should be considered, can be found in the following document:

• Bridge Management Strategy Guideline (Version 1.0)

Load evaluations

All bridge load evaluations carried out on bridges under the jurisdiction of Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors shall be carried out in accordance with the Bridge Load Evaluation Manual.

The Bridge Load Evaluation Manual is a document outlining our bridge load evaluation guidelines, practices and policies and is intended to supplement the requirements of CSA S6-14.

The determination of the load carrying capacities of the Province's bridges is a major ongoing activity.

Carrying out consistent, thorough and properly documented bridge load evaluation results is an important factor in achieving results that maximize the load carrying capacities of the Province's bridges while maintaining an adequate level of safety. It is intended that this document will help facilitate the achievement of this goal.