Timing is everything
A sudden influx of water produced by storms, snow melt, or
spring run-off can lead to high water episodes that make it
difficult, if not impossible, for inspectors to position themselves
to gather data and make accurate assessments of scouring.
Increased water volume and velocity also “armor” the river
with debris that can easily destroy equipment and threaten
inspectors’ safety.
Unfortunately, bridge scour is most visible to inspectors during
the same extreme conditions that frustrate their attempts
to access the bridge.
“There’s a limited window of opportunity here,” said Pete Haug,
an Ayres water resources engineer and a principal investigator for
this project. “Short-term scour can happen in a matter of hours
and be visible for only a brief time before the river conceals the
damage with a layer of re-deposited sediment.” Under such
cover, the potentially compromised footing remains.
Enabling real-time scour studies was MDOT’s goal when the
agency recently partnered with Ayres’ structural inspection
group. At MDOT’s request, Ayres’ bridge inspection
experts began research in 2016 to identify technology and
equipment capable of providing MDOT with a safe, practical
solution to conduct scour inspections in the midst of
treacherous high water.
24 | TRENDS
Ingenuity, Integrity, and Intelligence.