A partial list of definitions related to bridge inspection is given in the AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation. The same AASHTO definitions and specific additional terms are also used in various other chapters of this manual. The following discussion of Bridge Records includes some of the additional specific terms.

Bridge

- A structure, including supports, erected over a depression or an obstruction, such as water, a highway, or a railway and having a track or passageway for carrying traffic or other moving loads, and having an opening measured along the center of the roadway of more than 20 feet between under copings of abutments, spring lines of arches, or extreme ends of the openings for multiple boxes; it includes multiple pipes, where the clear distance between openings is less than half of the smaller contiguous opening.

Bridge Folder

- Until recently, the file for each bridge maintained by the District Bridge Inspection Office was a hard copy record of all inventory and inspection documentation for a bridge. With data now being submitted directly to the Bridge Inspection Management System, all data is recorded and held in electronic format and the bridge folder is now an archive of historical bridge information. Hard copy documents contained in the bridge folder are currently being scanned into the Bridge Inspection Management System.

Bridge File

- The electronic data for each bridge in TxDOT's bridge inventory, including, but not limited to inspection reports, photographs, load rating calculations, and appraisal ratings. Data is entered through the online Bridge Inspection Management System. The Coding Guide and SNBI describes the step-by-step data entry requirements.

Bridge Record

- The over-all collection of data including the documents that were contained in the hard copy Bridge Folder with completed forms, printout of coded electronic data, sketches, cross sections, photos, etc. It also includes the Bridge Inventory File stored on electronic media. The Bridge Record also includes the bridge plans, if available. Some of the bridge plans may also be available on electronic media in the form of computer-aided drafting (CAD) drawings. Historically this information was stored in hard copy format, but now the Bridge Record is being stored in the online Bridge Inspection Management System.

Control-Section-Job (CSJ) Numbers

- These are the unique numbers assigned to all construction plan sets at TxDOT. The Control Number is assigned to a stretch of highway that often breaks at a county line or a major highway intersection, river or stream, but can also break at any convenient location. The Section Number is a number within a specific Control and is usually assigned sequentially from the beginning of the Control. An average length for most Sections is about 4 to 5 miles but can be less than a mile or 15 to 20 miles. The Job Number is the sequential number for any type of construction project (bridge, paving, etc.) that may have ever occurred on that Section of highway. All off-system highways are assigned similar sequential numbers by the district within each county. Refer to Items 8.4 and 8.5 of the “Coding Guide” for more information.

Culverts

- Multiple-barrel box culverts or multiple-pipe culverts are sometimes classed as bridges and a complete Bridge Record is made. The AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation defines a bridge as any structure carrying traffic (highway or railroad) having an opening measured along the centerline of the roadway of more than 20 feet between the limits of the extreme openings of abutments, arches, or multiple boxes. This definition has created the anomaly in some cases where, for instance, three cast-in-place 6-ft multiple box culverts installed at more than about a 15-degree skew to the roadway must have a Bridge Record. If the same three box culverts are installed perpendicular to the roadway, they have no Bridge Record. The AASHTO definition continues for multiple-pipe culverts by stating that they may be classed as bridges provided the distance between individual pipes (the fill) is less than half the adjacent pipe diameter.

Elemental Data

- Identifies the various parts of the bridge (Elements), the material type and measures or estimates the condition of that element through specific predefined condition states. Additional information is available in the AASHTO Manual for Bridge Element Inspection.

Collecting data in this manner helps to better quantify the condition of a bridge or a system of bridges. By characterizing part of a bridge by the type of member and its material the following types of analysis can more easily be performed: 1) prediction of deterioration, 2) prediction of costs for repair, rehabilitation or replacement, 3) identification of alternative programs based on level of service or other criteria, 4) optimization of expenditure based on user and agency costs, 5) budget forecasts, and 6) development of programs for improvements.

Engineer

- The qualified, Texas-licensed, Professional Engineer having responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in the Bridge Record. A pre-qualified consulting firm engaged by TxDOT to perform routine bridge inspections is also considered in the following discussions to be covered by the term Engineer. Inspections done by TxDOT staff must also have a qualified, Texas-licensed, Professional Engineer responsible for the Bridge Records. The same basic procedures are used by TxDOT personnel as are required for consulting firms.

Forms

- Specific forms within the Bridge Inspection Management System such as the Bridge Inspection Record, or the Bridge Inventory Record forms may be developed as needed for specific types of data or classes of structures.

National Bridge Inventory Number

- The unique 15-digit number assigned to any structure meeting the definition of a bridge. The number includes the 2-digit District Number, 3-digit County Number, a 1 digit fixed zero, commonly referred to as the “Fed Zero,” the 4-digit Control Number, the 2-digit Section Number, and the 3-digit Permanent Structure Number. The off-system index number uses the same 6 digits assigned to Control and Section for on-system highways. The Permanent Structure Number for off-system bridges is assigned by the district. Bridge Identification Numbers are never to be reused, neither for on-system structures nor off-system structures. Similarly, Bridge Identification Numbers are never to change. If a bridge moves from the on-system to the off-system or vice-versa, it keeps the same ID. For most on-system bridges the first 12 digits of the ID will correspond with a physical stretch of roadway and are often directly related to the identification number of the construction plans from which the bridge was built. See “

Control-Section-Job (CSJ) Numbers.

”

Permanent Structure Number (PSN)

- A unique three-digit number assigned to any structure meeting the definition of a bridge. It is part of the 15-digit National Bridge Inventory Number. PSNs are assigned by Control-Section Segments in ascending order as the bridges are built and are not necessarily in sequence along the Control-Section Segment. An on-system bridge replaced by a new bridge at the same location will have a new number assigned. A widened or reconstructed bridge will retain the same number. Districts assign similar unique numbers to off-system bridges. A bridge with a longitudinal open joint in the middle will have two PSNs, even if the superstructures share a common substructure element. Districts should request the PSN before submitting the Preliminary Bridge Layout, so that the PSN can be included on the Preliminary Bridge Layout Review (PBLR).

Route Over or Under

- A bridge at intersecting highways is defined as an underpass or overpass based on the inventory hierarchy of the two routes. This description is used where required on all forms, plans, etc. The hierarchy of Texas highways is: Interstate, US, SH, State Loops or Spurs, FM/RM, County Roads (CR), and Business Routes (BR). The lower route number takes precedence if the highways are of equal hierarchy. Examples are:

Signing and Sealing

- The Engineer must sign, seal, and date the appropriate documents in bridge inspection reports. Date the seal on the day it was affixed to the documents.

Temporary Bridge

– A bridge which is constructed to carry highway traffic until the permanent facility is built, repaired, rehabilitated, or replaced. These temporary bridges must be bridge-class to be treated as a “bridge” under the NBIS.

Work Authorization

- Authorization issued by TxDOT to a consultant (Engineer) to perform inspections of bridge structures in various counties and districts in Texas. The Work Authorization is issued for a specific period of time with a commencement and ending date specified. Consultants under contract to TxDOT must pre-qualify by demonstrating that they are competent to inspect Texas bridges.