Maintenance of Bridges & Structures

Maintenance of the highway structures can generally be categorised into:-

• Routine or cyclic maintenance
• Reactive or Ad-hoc maintenance
• Planned maintenance.

Routine Maintenance

The City Council routinely undertakes maintenance on all its highway structures. Routine maintenance typically comprises of  cleaning of drains and expansion joints to Bridges; cleaning of walls and ceilings to the pedestrian subways and road underpasses, and the maintenance of lighting, pumps etc.

Reactive or Ad-Hoc Maintenance

Reactive or Ad-hoc maintenance generally falls into one of two categories: 

• Emergency – work that must be carried out immediately because it poses a
  public safety issue; includes making safe until an appropriate permanent solution
  is developed.
• Essential – work that must be undertaken otherwise structural integrity may
  be affected, can also be for aesthetic reasons e.g. Graffiti, particularly if it
  is offensive.

Programmed or Planned Maintenance (PPM)

Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) – is work carried out to maintain
the condition and durability of a structure by protecting it from deterioration
or slowing down the rate of deterioration to provide maintenance costs over
the life of a structure. Planned Preventative Maintenance for highway
structures is carried out on an annual rolling basis, the work under
PPM can be divided into two broad headings:

           Structural  -  This is essential to ensure the integrity and load carrying capacity
                                  of the Bridge/Structure is maintained.

           Non-Structural  -  This is essential work to ensure the long term durability
                                           and function of a structure, such work includes:

• Renewal of Mechanical and Electrical equipment
• Renewal of Lighting
• Major Repainting / Corrosion Protection
• Renewal/Replacement of drainage systems etc

Capital Maintenance

Capital Maintenance is work that is generally classed as a significant improvement to
a structure. Examples of capital maintenance include

• Component Renewal e.g. Bearings, expansion joints.
• Upgrading Work e.g. Strengthening, waterproofing.
• Widening and headroom improvements.
• Replacement e.g. of a structure/component which restores the full design performance of the structure/component replaced.