14-48.0011. Safety Inspection of Bridges

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to establish standards for safety inspection of bridges, as well as certification requirements for bridge inspectors.

(2) The Manual for Bridge Evaluation, Third Edition, with 2019 Interim Revisions, published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule. Copies of this manual are available from the AASHTO Bookstore website: https://bookstore.transportation.org. Additionally, a copy of this manual is available for public inspection during regular business hours at the Florida Department of Transportation, Office of Maintenance, 605 Suwannee Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, and at the Florida Department of State, Administrative Code and Register Section, Room 701, the Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 32399. Posting of this manual on the Internet for purposes of public examination would violate federal copyright law.

(3) The Federal Highway Administration Recording and Coding Guide for the Structure Inventory and Appraisal of the Nation’s Bridges, December 1995, is incorporated herein by reference at: http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13081.

(4) Training Course. Bridge inspectors must complete and pass the final examination for the Safety Inspection of In-Service Bridges course provided by the National Highway Institute. Information regarding this training can be obtained by contacting the National Highway Institute at its website: https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/home.aspx.

(5) The Department will certify persons with a minimum of five years bridge construction or maintenance inspection experience working in a responsible capacity, who have completed the training course as bridge inspectors. The five years experience must include at least one year of experience conducting bridge safety inspections which meet the requirements of the National Bridge Inspection Standards, 23 C.F.R., Part 650, Subpart C, Rev. 12/09, incorporated herein by reference at: http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13079. To receive bridge inspection experience, the inspections must have been done under the supervision of an onsite P.E. or CBI. Also incorporated herein by reference is the Bridge Inspector’s Reference Manual, U.S. Department of Transportation Publication No. FHWA NHI 12-049, December, 2012, which is available at: http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13084. The other four years shall include credit for any combination of the following: engineering education, structure design, bridge construction, bridge maintenance, materials testing, or additional bridge safety inspection. Credit for engineering education is as follows:

(a) An individual who holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from an accredited college or university, which is determined to be substantially equivalent by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, and has passed the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, will receive 3 years credit;

(b) An individual who holds an associate’s degree in engineering or engineering technology from an accredited college or university, or is determined to be substantially equivalent by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, will receive 1 year credit.

The Application for Bridge Inspection Certification, DOT Form 850-010-16, Rev. 06/09, is incorporated herein by reference at: http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13080 and can be downloaded from the Department’s Procedural Document Library website at: https://pdl.fdot.org/.

(6) Effective January 1, 2012, and every 4 years thereafter, all individuals serving as a bridge inspection team leader must have successfully completed the Safety Inspection of In-Service Bridge course. If the course was not taken in the previous 4 years, the individual must have successfully completed at least 12 personal development hours in bridge inspection training within the previous 4 years. An individual not meeting this requirement will be ineligible to serve as a bridge inspection team leader until this requirement is met. The Office of Maintenance will maintain a list of courses that meet the continuing education requirements. This list can be found in the document “Team Leader Requirements in Florida” at: https://www.fdot.gov/maintenance/Inspection.shtm.

(7) The Department intends to repeal the provisions of this rule on May 1, 2026, in accordance with the rulemaking requirements of Section 120.54, F.S., unless this rule is reviewed and determined to remain necessary prior to such proposed repeal.

Rulemaking Authority 334.044(2) FS. Law Implemented 334.044(28), 335.074 FS. History–New 1-30-05, Amended 12-14-09, 10-20-21.