Analysis of visual inspection data for a sample of highway bridges in the UK

The UK has a large stock of highway bridges that is ageing and deteriorating. This paper presents the results of a programme of work to understand the reliability of the visual inspection data that is used to inform the management of Highways England's structures. This paper presents a data set comprising evidence collected from presence at the principal inspection or testing of 200 bridges randomly sampled from Highways England's bridge network, coupled with asset management data for Highways England's entire bridge stock. Recommendations are made for future improvements in visual inspection practice and use of such data in future asset management efforts.