To promote the health and safety of off-system bridges, Monterey County RMA hired M&N to conduct bridge inspections and load ratings and recommend safe posting loads for bridges with insufficient capacity for commercial traffic.
The Monterey County RMA is taking measures to inventory all bridges within the county that are off the National Highway System and/or under 20-ft long. For the first batch of bridges assigned by the County, Moffatt & Nichol was hired to conduct bridge inspections and document findings in a Bridge Inspection Report. The report categorizes the condition of bridge elements in accordance with the Caltrans Bridge Element Inspection Manual and recommends items of work to prolong the service life of the structure. Each report also includes a Structural Inventory and Appraisal (SIAR) sheet, prepared in accordance with the FHWA Recording and Coding Guide, to document deficiencies and assign a sufficiency rating to each bridge. Together, the Bridge Inspection Report and SIAR sheet will help the County prioritize repairs and secure funding for possible replacements. Each bridge was also load rated according to the AAHSTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation to determine legal load capacities. Bridges lacking sufficient capacity will be posted with weight limits to encourage safe travel routes for commercial traffic within the County.
