Category:754 Bridge Engineering Assistance Program (BEAP): Difference between revisions

The Bridge Engineering Assistance Program (BEAP) allows local public agencies to receive engineering assistance on bridge problems when agencies do not have their own engineering staff to effectively evaluate and arrive at solutions for these problems.

754.1 Purpose

The hydraulic and structural adequacy of the bridges on their street, road and highway system is a major concern to the local public agencies of Missouri. Local public agencies need to conduct effective bridge evaluations to determine priorities for maintenance, rehabilitation and replacements. Many of these local public agencies and their political subdivisions have neither the funds nor the engineering expertise necessary to conduct effective bridge evaluations or determine bridge maintenance and repair priorities.

As a result, the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission has developed the Bridge Engineering Assistance Program to provide Missouri’s local public agencies with the assistance necessary to study bridge engineering problems.

The services of this program are to be used for bridges on local roads that are not part of the MoDOT road system, but are under the jurisdiction of local public agencies. These services are intended to be available to attack definite operational or structural problems presently being experienced on an existing bridge, and are not intended to be used for the development of detailed plans for new bridges. BEAP services are not intended to duplicate services already available to local public agencies either through the MoDOT district office or Bridge Division. The consultant services provided under this program are intended to maximize the availability of professional advice or services to local public agencies with minimal technician and drafting time. The BEAP program does not provide funding for construction or construction engineering services.

The BEAP program is generally limited to one study per bridge with the expectation that the local public agency would implement the recommendations from that study. Requests for additional studies for the same problem on a bridge will not be approved unless the local public agency implemented the previous recommendations but had the same or a similar problem develop again. If the previous recommendations were never implemented, the local public agency will need to provide a reasonable explanation as to why the previous recommendations were not implemented. Studies for newly developed problems on a bridge will be considered. When requesting a study, the local public agency should have the consultant address all of the operational or structural concerns that they may have for that bridge. Multiple studies on the same bridge to address issues on a “piece meal” basis will not be approved.

754.2 Personnel

The structural and hydraulic engineering expertise necessary to provide this assistance to the local public agencies and their political subdivision will be provided from a pool of pre-qualified engineering consultants. The consultant firms selected for the pre-qualified pool will be required to use engineering personnel having a background that includes intensive bridge inspection experience and familiarity with developing bridge maintenance priorities and low cost bridge improvements. (See Appendix 1 for the list of consulting firms).

The personnel utilized by the consultant shall be those that were identified in the consultant's proposal whenever the firm was being considered for inclusion on the pre-qualified listing. If the consultant desires to utilize personnel not included in their original proposal, they will need to obtain approval from the Bridge Division prior to using these people.

754.3 Administration

The local implementation of this program is under the immediate direction of MoDOT's district engineer, with coordination of the statewide consultant contract and technical policy interpretation being provided by the Bridge Division. The statewide contract is normally in effect for a three-year period, after which time it may either be extended for an additional year or a new solicitation done to develop a new list of pre-approved consultants. (See Appendix 3, BEAP Hourly Rate Contract for a sample contract).

A local public agency experiencing a bridge problem and desiring to use the services of this program need merely inform the district personnel in that particular area and/or contact an approved consultant for assistance in developing a project to address these problems. The district's authorized representative or the local public agency will discuss the problem with the consultant so that they can prepare a fee estimate and submit the BEAP Project Tracking Form for further eligibility review by the district office and Bridge Division. (See Appendix 2, BEAP Project Tracking Form.)

If the project is confirmed by the Bridge Division to meet the eligibility and program cost requirements, the BEAP Project Tracking Form will be returned to the district office so that they can provide the consultant with the notice to proceed.

Upon completion of the consultant's evaluation of the bridge problem, the local public agency, Bridge Division and the district office shall be advised at the same time of the consultant's findings in a letter report. The letters and sketches shall be signed and sealed by a registered professional engineer.

All announcements, printings, and advertisements shall list the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration as program sponsors.

754.4 Funding and Authorized Costs

The services of the program are generally provided free of direct costs to requesting, eligible local public agencies in Missouri through the cooperation of the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. However, local public agencies are expected to provide active assistance to the consultant during the project. Eligibility is based on the local public agency not having personnel with sufficient engineering expertise to conduct effective bridge evaluations and develop immediate structural repair procedures and details.

If a project is approved, the consultant selected by the local public agency will be reimbursed in accordance with the agreed upon hourly rates, overhead and fringe benefit rates, fixed profit percentage, and the direct non-salary costs as set forth in the contract. Direct non-salary costs submitted for reimbursement shall be well documented including a description of the item as well as the cost. When vehicle mileage is being submitted for reimbursement, the mileage rate used to determine the reimbursable amount must be the federal mileage rate in effect at the time the work was done.

Each specific BEAP project must receive prior approval from the district office and Bridge Division. This requires that the consultant submit a BEAP Project Tracking Form to the district contact outlining the work to be performed. The BEAP Project Tracking Form shall outline project hours anticipated by personnel classification and by task (field or office review, report preparations, travel time, etc.). Development of the BEAP Project Tracking Form should be done based on the consultant's initial contact with the local public agency or the district office. If a project is approved, costs for travel expenses and personnel time required for one site inspection during the course of the project are normally eligible for reimbursement.

The consultant shall provide the Bridge Division with an itemized invoice for their services and the Bridge Division personnel will, upon verification of the eligible charges, authorize that payment be made to the consultant. The itemized invoice should also show the signature of the consultant. Only one invoice shall be submitted for each BEAP project. Payment to the consultant for their services will done utilizing an electronic funds transfer.

The BEAP program is funded using Highway Safety Funds and Local Technology Assistance Program funds. The amount of funding from each of these sources may vary each year. The future availability of these funds for this program is not guaranteed.

754.5 General Process for a BEAP Study

The local public agency identifies a bridge problem that they desire to utilize the BEAP program for. The local public agency will either directly contact one of the consultants on the pre-approved listing to discuss the bridge problem or contact the district office for information and assistance on using this program. After being notified of the bridge problem, the consultant will fill out the BEAP Project Tracking Form and submit it electronically to the district office for review. The district office will review the proposed project and then forward it to Bridge Division for their review and approval to move forward with the study. After being given the notice to proceed, the consultant will perform the study in accordance with the information provided on the BEAP Project Tracking Form. Upon completion of the study, the consultant will send the report to the local public agency, the district office and Bridge Division contacts, at the same time.

After the report has been reviewed and accepted, the consultant will prepare and submit a single invoice to Bridge Division for review and approval. This invoice shall be submitted within 45 days of the completion of the project. Payments to consultants for services provided under the BEAP Program will be done electronically

754.6 Local Public Agency Responsibilities

The local public agency is responsible for identifying the bridge problem that they need assistance on and then initiating the request for assistance for this program either through the consultant or through the district office. The local public agency should provide any assistance needed by the consultant during the BEAP study. Examples of the types of assistance include but are not necessarily limited to traffic control, site access, and trucks or equipment for load testing. After completion of the study, the local agency should perform the work as specified in the report and then notify the district office once this work is completed.

754.7 Consultant Responsibilities

The services made available under this program are intended for the review of existing bridges where definite problems exist. It is anticipated that these reviews can be performed in 60 or fewer total person hours per bridge. Time spent developing the proposed BEAP study will not be eligible for reimbursement. The consultant is allowed to perform BEAP studies in any part of the state. If the consultant has multiple office locations, it is expected that they would utilize personnel from the office closest to the bridge site so as to minimize the travel related costs for the study, including personnel time.

The general services provided by the consultant for a typical project include a single site visit to the bridge to collect information, review and analysis of conditions, and formulation of recommendations to the local public agency. The types of recommendations could include the items listed below:

• Recommendations for repair of damaged elements of the bridge.

• Recommendations for strengthening of deteriorated elements of the bridge.

• Recommendations for strengthening of elements of the bridge to increase the load capacity of the bridge.

• Recommendations for emergency repairs from flood damage.

• Studies on the hydraulic adequacy of the bridge.

• Recommendations on channel repair and scour mitigation or repair.

• Recommendations on load posting limitations for the bridge.

• Cost studies for repair or replacement alternatives for the bridge.

• Recommendations on whether or not to close a bridge.

The services provided under the BEAP program shall not include the preparation of a complete design and plans for a replacement structure. When the consultant has recommended that a structure be closed because of unsafe conditions, the consultant may provide suggestions for various alternative structure types, but the actual design of a replacement structure is beyond the normal scope of a BEAP project.

As part of a BEAP Study, the consultant may recommend low-cost bridge renovations projects, and it will be acceptable in this situation for the consultant to prepare conceptual engineering sketches to illustrate any recommendations for remedial action. It is also not intended for the BEAP program to duplicate services already normally available to local public agencies through MoDOT. MoDOT currently provides bridge inspection services through the district office for local public agency owned bridges in most parts of the state. MoDOT also provides load rating services through Bridge Division for local public agency owned bridges where the information available is sufficient enough to perform a load rating analysis.

Load posting recommendations for a BEAP study are limited to considerations involving comparisons with normal state legal loads. Evaluations for special permit or other non-legal loads are not allowed as part of a BEAP study.

Determination of load postings for bridges using proof load testing is allowed under the BEAP program for concrete bridges. Proof load testing for other types of bridges is not allowed.

A general review of the traffic control devices and other safety measures at the bridge site should be included as part of a BEAP study. Any recommendations for changes needed in these items should be included in the BEAP report.

754.8 District Responsibilities

• Advise the local public agencies within the district of the pre-qualified list of consultants and that they may select any of the firms on this list to perform the study.

• Assist with or provide coordination with the local public agency.

• Provide Bridge Division advice related to the qualifications or expertise of any engineering personnel that a local public agency may have on their staff.

• Make decisions on the relevant bridge information needed for the project, and assist with collecting this information from the local public agency or from the appropriate area within MoDOT. Typical information provided for these projects includes inspection reports, location maps for the bridge, rating information, photos that are on file, and the most recent structure inventory and appraisal (SIA) sheet.

• Assist the local public agency or consultant with developing the scope of services for the project, as needed.

• Receive the BEAP Project Tracking Form from the consultant, and review the problem and scope of services to determine the appropriateness of the project for the BEAP program.

• Forward the BEAP Project Tracking Form to Bridge Division for review and concurrence with moving forward on the project.

• Provide the consultant with the notice to proceed after concurrence has been received from Bridge Division.

• In a timely manner, check with the local public agency to see if they utilized the engineering services.

• For structures that were closed, inspect the repairs made before the bridge is opened to traffic.

• Review repairs that are made to verify that they were done in accordance with the recommendations in the BEAP report and provide an updated SIA sheet, as appropriate.

• If the consultant recommends closure of the bridge during the BEAP study, initiate a Critical Inspection Finding (CIF) in accordance with current practice for the nonstate system.

754.9 Bridge Division Responsibilities

• Provide contract administration for the program.

• Provide technical policy interpretation for the program.

• Review the project scope and estimate and provide the district office with approval for the project to move forward.

• Review the final report for conformance with the scope of services identified on the BEAP Project Tracking Form.

• Update the approved load posting in the bridge inventory records based on the information or recommendations provided by the consultant. In situations where strengthening of a bridge is required to increase the posting, any posting changes will be delayed until information is provided to indicate that the strengthening has been completed and was done in accordance with the BEAP report.

• BEAP project invoices shall be sent directly to Bridge Division. Bridge Division will review and approve the invoices and forward them on to the appropriate unit within MoDOT for electronic payment to the consultant.