Bridge-maintenance and -management of the german federal highways.

The federal road network of Germany contains a large number of highway structures like bridges, tunnels, retaining walls and others. The maintenance programs to be prepared for this purpose not only requires a high budget, but also influence the economy and society as a whole. Due to growing volumes of traffic and higher weights of trucks, bridges are subjected to increasing loads which implies that maintenance costs will be rising in the future. Considering the fact that financial resources become continuously tighter, the maintenance costs has to be spent in a way to obtain the greatest possible benefits. This task will be supported in the future by the application of individual computer programs in the frame of a comprehensive Management System (Bridge Management System, BMS). Firstly, the BMS is to provide the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs with an overview of the current situation at the overall network level, and allows it to come to financial requirements as well as strategies for realising long-term objectives. Secondly, the states and authorities are to be supplied with recommendations for performing improvements at the object level and the state network level in compliance with given strategies and budgetary restrictions. Some of the above mentioned topics has already been realised. Computer programs are currently being prepared (Phase 4). However, some essential issues are still in the development phase. The final reports of AP 99 245/B4 Entwicklung eines Bauwerks-Management-Systems fur das deutsche FernstraBennetz, Stufe 1 und 2, and AP 02 244/B4 Entwicklung eines Bauwerks-Management-Systems fur das deutsche FernstraBennetz, Stufe 3 describes the existing regulations and procedures as well as those which are going to be developed in phase 1 to 3 in the frame of the development of the BMS for state application. Important topics are knowledge catalogues, deterioration models, maintenance strategies, cost/benefit analysis and Knapsack-Algorithm (A). For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD E212343.