This guide provides bridge related definitions and corresponding commentaries, as well as the framework for a systematic approach to a preventive maintenance program. The goal is to provide guidance on bridge preservation. This guide is intended for Federal, State, and local bridge engineers, area engineers, bridge owners, and bridge preservation practitioners.

An Insiders' Guide to Inspecting, Maintaining, and Operating BridgesSuspension bridges are graceful, aesthetic, and iconic structures. Due to their attractiveness and visibility, they are well-known symbols of major cities and countries in the world. They are also essential form of transportation infrastructure built across large bodies of water. D

The Guide Manual for Bridge Element Inspection builds on the element-level condition assessment methods developed in the AASHTO Guide for Commonly Recognized Structural Elements, which it replaces. Improvements have been made to fully capture the condition of the elements by reconfiguring the element language to utilize multiple distress paths within the defined condition states. The multi-path distress language provides the means to fully incorporate all possible defects within the overall condition assessment of the element. The overall condition of an element can be utilized in this aggregate form, or broken down into specific defects present as desired by the agency for Bridge Management System (BMS) use. The Bridge Element Inspection Manual provides a comprehensive set of bridge elements that is designed to be flexible in nature to satisfy the needs of all agencies. The complete set of elements capture the components necessary for an agency to manage all aspects of the bridge inventory utilizing the full capability of a BMS -- Publisher's website.