Assessment of bridge management system in Iran

Abstract

The road and railroad networks are the most important elements of the infrastructure system and bridges are the main connective parts. Moreover, bridges are considered as important points in critical arteries. If the bridges deteriorate, because of aging, fatigue, loading, weather conditions, natural disaster and etc. repair works will be more expensive than maintenance works. The available budget for rehabilitation and maintenance usually is not enough for holding the system in a certain condition level its whole life. In our country bridge maintenance isn't important as their construction. Bridge maintenance authorities haven't any serious view towards prevention maintenance, and while there isn't any structural failure, they don't take any effective measures. Nowadays, in developed country and even some developing countries, all of the bridges are evaluated and maintained by Bridge Management System (BMS). Bridge management system has a specific principle and plenty of developed software for it. Hence, for deployment of this system, it's necessary to plan a specific program with reasonable time table in order to prevent the disadvantages of these national assets. In this paper, a study has been conducted about implementation of BMS in IRAN that present accomplished activities and then evaluate the process and finally significant strategies and executive suggestion have been mentioned.