Six Year Highway Improvement Program - State Highway Rehabilitation Subprogram

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Six Year Highway Improvement Program

State bridges

The State Bridges component of the SHR subprogram deals with improvements to bridges on the non-Interstate portion of the state highway system, including bridge replacements and major bridge repair. Bridge rehabilitation generally increases load-carrying capacity and widens deck roadways.

The program does not include bridges that can be effectively treated through routine repair, which is funded in the maintenance program.

The types of improvement are categorized as:

Replacement: constructing a new bridge to replace an existing deteriorated one.
Rehabilitation: restoring the structural integrity of an existing bridge by using less extreme measures than replacement—usually deck replacement or overlay.

High cost bridges

High cost bridges are those with a deck area of 40,000 square feet or more. Objective indices are developed for each factor on all candidate bridges and priorities are set. The results are then analyzed and reviewed by engineering staff and a management team. The Highways Programming Committee evaluates high cost bridges by using information gathered by regional staff and recommends candidate bridges by assigning priorities based on:

structural and functional adequacy
economic feasibility
intangible considerations such as community, environmental and economic impacts

Current high cost bridge projects

Low cost bridges and regional allocations

Low cost bridges (decks are less than 40,000 square feet) are evaluated, selected and scheduled directly by the transportation regions. When evaluating candidate bridge projects, regions assign a general order of priority to:

bridges that are closed or posted
bridges that are structurally deficient (becoming unsafe) and not treatable by routine maintenance or are likely to become unsafe in the six-year period
bridges that are functionally obsolete (i.e., have narrow roadways, restricted clearances or poor alignment), and are likely to become structurally deficient within the six-year period

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Back to State Highway Rehabilitation Subprogram

State Highway Rehabilitation Subprogram components:

Existing highways

State bridges

Backbone rehabilitation