The National Technical Committee has produced a book entitled "Increasingthe service life of bridges: guidelines for the design, construction and maintenance stages", which, with the prospect of extending service life, sets out guidelines for a bridge's entire life cycle.The book is divided into 5 sections described below.. Introduction: that after illustrating the premises of the work, addresses the essential matter of providing the reference regulatory framework. General lines of analysis: including a brief description of the bridge assets in the territory, the analysis of their most common defects, their causes and the methodologies used to identify them. Choice and description of the types of measure: after a rapid overview of the main measures used, some examples of work carried out are given. A detailed study on the methods at present in use for raising decks has alsobeen included together with some brief documentation on the devices used (supporting equipment, joints, etc.). Material characteristics: the innovative materials used in the section in the execution of the measures are described, especially when the technology to be applied is not covered by existing standards. Recommendations for new constructions: this section is mainly intended for designers, and contains certain expedients to improve and extend the service life of structures as also economising on future running costs. For the covering abstract see ITRD E139491.
Abstract