Minister of road transport, highways and shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari said that the launch of the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS) is a major step towards ensuring the safety of bridges.
IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in the country and rate their structural condition so that timely repair and rehabilitation work can be carried out.
The minister said that a lack of any database on bridges in the country has led to a situation where there is no clarity about the exact number or location; the country has not been able to maintain the assets in proper condition. The poor condition of bridges hampers efficient transport and has also led to accidents and loss of lives, he said. IBMS aims to fill this gap by compiling data that will help decide which bridges needs critical attention and which need to be rebuilt.
The database could exceed 150,000 bridge structures. So far 115,000 have been identified, including 85,000 classed as culverts.
Each bridge is assigned a unique identification number and the precise location is collected through GPS. Engineering characteristics including the design, materials, type of bridge, age, loading, traffic lanes, length, width are collected. Rating is carried out for each component of the structure. In addition to the structural rating, the bridges are also being assessed to decide the importance of the structure in relation to its contribution to daily activity in its vicinity.
