According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), more than 26% of the nation's bridges in 2009 were classified as either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The ASCE estimated that the total investment needed to bring the nation's bridge infrastructure up to code over the next 5 years was $930 billion, but in that time only $549.5 billion would be spent. In 2011, structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges still made up close to 24% of the nation's total bridge infrastructure. A report by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) indicates that, given more time and funding to complete bridge inspections, the use of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods would increase among state and county transportation agencies. NDE promises a way to enhance the allocation of funding by improving the information these decisions are based on and by improving the assessment of existing bridge conditions.
展开▼
