State of Bridge Management in Canada

Abstract

Bridges are key elements of all horizontal transportation networks. The primary objective of this paper is to investigate and document bridge-management practices in Canada at the federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal levels. The research methods used include a literature review, data collection (surveys), data analysis, and conclusions. The survey was sent to all provincial/territorial and federal jurisdictions. Nine of ten provincial, three of three territorial, and two of nine federal agencies responded to the survey. Currently, only four provinces have computerized Bridge Management Systems (BMS). The Ontario Structure Inspection Manual (OSIM), developed by province of Ontario, is the most widely used bridge inspection system in Canada. At present, five provinces employ this system to conduct bridge inspections. This paper identified six important municipal bridge-management challenges. It is recommended that higher tier of government, i.e., federal and provincial, should play a larger role to support municipalities with bridge management.