NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has initiated a massive nationwide exercise to prepare a comprehensive inventory and condition assessment of all bridges and structures on national highways.
The exercise is being undertaken to establish a proactive and scientific bridge management system for timely maintenance and improved safety.
The initiative will enable the authorities to carry out continuous monitoring of bridge health, facilitate evidence-based planning of maintenance works and help authorities prioritise interventions based on the condition of individual structures.
As part of the exercise, the ministry has developed a new mobile-based application for the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS), a platform for collecting bridge inventory data and conducting condition surveys.
The app will be used by field officials to capture and upload information in a standardised format, creating a centralised digital database of bridges across the national highway network, using mobile phones or tablets.
The ministry officials and other agencies such as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), Public Works Departments (PWDS) and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) can also use a web-based dashboard to generate various default and custom inventory and condition reports of bridges under their jurisdiction.
The deadline for the data collection and inspection exercise is September.
The unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drone technology may also be used for the surveys, especially for inaccessible components of the structures.
“It has been decided that the data collection for all bridges (structures with length greater than six metres) on national highways. The field units shall utilise the services of Authority Engineer (AE), Independent Engineer (IE), Supervision Consultant or DPR Consultant available with them as they are obligated to monitor and report on the maintenance condition and safety of existing highways including existing bridges,” read a circular issued by the Ministry on June 25.
The note further stated that if the concerned AE/IE in any project fails to start the inventory and condition survey within one month of the issuance of the circular, the same shall be considered a breach of obligation, and subsequent monthly payments may be suspended.
There are around 1.7 lakh structures on the highways, including bridges, flyovers and culverts.
“It has also been decided that henceforth in all projects pending completion, executing agencies must ensure that inventory and condition data of all the bridges shall be mandatorily filled in the IBMS portal along with the submission of as-built drawings. Further, all DPR Consultants shall mandatorily input the inventory and condition data of all the existing bridges in the portal,” the circular also read.