The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has just released the first edition of the AASHTO Guide Manual for Bridge Element Inspection as a resource for agencies performing element level bridge inspections and as a reference for standardized element definitions, element quantity calculations, condition state definitions, element feasible actions, and inspection conventions.
Developed by the AASHTO Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures, the manual builds on the element-level condition assessment methods developed in the AASHTO Guide to Commonly Recognized Structural Elements (1994), which it replaces. Its goal is to completely capture the condition of bridges in a way that can be standardized nationwide, yet provide enough flexibility to be adapted to all agency settings.