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This synthesis identifies and explains various inspection and maintenance techniques for bridge stay cable systems. It discusses both short- and long-term approaches. Topics cov- ered included methods for inspections and assessments, including nondestructive testing and evaluation procedures; repair and retrofit; methods for control of cable vibrations, including rain–wind vibrations; stay cable fatigue and failure; effectiveness of various inspection and repair methods; limitations of available technologies; and trends and recommendations for future study.

The Asset Management in Planning and Operations Peer Exchange was held on September 7-8, 2004. It was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and hosted by the Transportation Research Board (TRB). Asset Management (AM) in planning and operations was selected as the peer exchange focus because of the expanding role of AM as a comprehensive approach to managing agency resources and transportation systems. In addition, the benefits associated with the application of AM principles underscored AM as an area of critical importance to the transportation field. The goal of the AM peer exchange was to gather additional information about the state of the practice and to identify research needs and potential areas for innovation. Lance Neumann, Cambridge Systematics, Inc., began the peer exchange with a brief overview of available AM resources and observations from state department of transportation (DOT) implementation of AM. Kirk Steudle, MI DOT, gave an update on the AASHTO subcommittee on Asset Management. Peer exchange participants applauded the efforts of the AASHTO subcommittee but encouraged the inclusion of cities, counties, and metropolitan planning organizations in the effort to expand the adoption of AM practices. Dave Geiger, FHWA Office of Asset Management, discussed recent efforts to further integrate AM principles into existing FHWA offices and reported on the FHWA-supported AM education efforts. Finally, Sue McNeil, University of Illinois at Chicago, reported on recent TRB Asset Management Committee activities. This report serves to document and further distribute the insights raised during the meeting. To facilitate discussion, each participant was asked to answer a set of questions before coming to the peer exchange. The participant answers to the AM questions are contained in Section 2 of this report along with a summary of the written responses. Section 3 presents the key themes discussed, notable agency accomplishments, and potential areas for innovation. The appendix contains a list of peer exchange attendees.

This fourth volume of NCHRP Report 525: "Surface Transportation Security" will be of interest to state department of transportation and highway authorities with responsibility for state-level program planning and policy, asset (e.g., bridge and tunnel) management, and security. The law-enforcement community and emergency responders are essential in risk-management planning and should be familiar with the concepts in this course. In federal agencies, security decision makers, field office representatives, and bridge and tunnel engineers could benefit from this course. In general, engineers, planners, and researchers involved in security assessment and planning would find the concepts in this course beneficial.

This project developed two software tools to support tradeoff analysis for transportation asset management. The CD-ROM, which accompanies National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 545, contains the software tools, AssetManager NT and AssetManager PT, as well as their Users Guides. Also included are the two appendices to the report, Appendix A: State Interview Summaries and Appendix B: Review of Existing Tools.

This report is an overview of risk management for government agencies produced by Her Majesty's Treasury. It recognizes there is no specific standard for risk management that all agencies will be able to adopt, and thus it seeks to outline the principles of risk management so that agencies can use the parts of the Risk Assessment Management Framework that is most compatible with their current organizational structure. It identifies topics such as risk identification, assessment, appetite, and communication.

This manual details New Zealand Transit’s approach to risk and risk management. The manual opens with a glossary of risk management related terms and the objectives and key concepts behind risk managements. It continues with a description of the key tools used to manage risk and then discusses how to apply these tools and when a general approach is justified, and when a more rigorous, advanced approach is required to manage risk effectively.

This technical manual details all the major aspects of inspecting and maintaining bridges. It categorizes ways bridges can deteriorate by material, including concrete, steel, timber, and masonry, and further divides each material into what factors can cause it to deteriorate. It then lists the procedures for inspection used by the Queensland Department of Main Roads (QDMR) and how QDMR logs and maintains its data about its bridges.

The Optimised Decision Making Guidelines expands on topics in the International Infrastructure Management Manual providing a step by step guide to making optimum decisions for infrastructure acquisition, renewal, operations and maintenance. A tool for engineers, asset managers, or senior decision makers in any organisation. It demonstrates economic analysis in simple practical terms with guidance on how to evaluate.

A report which documents FHWA's efforts to build an agencywide asset management strategy by increasing understanding and support of the practice, finding relationships between TAM principles and the agency's programming, and developing a plan for implementation.

This case study details the data integration process at Virginia DOT. VDOT's data integration strategy has enabled the agency to develop better decision-making tools and has facilitated efficient integration of asset management data. The report is part of the FHWA Office of Asset Management's series of case studies on TAM, produced with the goal of sharing information between agencies to improve efficiency.