1. (1) Biennial inspections. All bridges subject to the provisions of the code shall receive a biennial inspection which is to be performed at least once every two years. In addition:

   1. (i) all bridges open to highway traffic while undergoing repair, reconstruction or rehabilitation shall continue to receive biennial inspections during such construction when due; and
   2. (ii) all new bridges, reconstructed bridges, and rehabilitated bridges shall receive a biennial inspection within 60 days of formal project acceptance or fully opening the bridge to highway traffic, whichever occurs first.

2. (2) Interim inspections. All bridges subject to the provisions of the code which meet one or more of the following criteria shall receive an interim inspection:

   1. (i) all bridges which are posted for load capacity below the State unrestricted legal load limit as a result of an engineering analysis that results in the load restriction;
   2. (ii) all bridges which received a general recommendation, as defined by the current department Bridge Inspection Manual, of three or less during their most recent general inspection;
   3. (iii) all bridges which carry an active structural flag, as defined by the department's Inspection Flagging Procedure for Bridges; and

   4. (iv) all bridges for which the entity with inspection responsibility determines that it is appropriate.

      Interim inspections shall be performed at or near one year after each biennial inspection. Bridges open to highway traffic while undergoing repair, reconstruction or rehabilitation shall receive an interim inspection when due. A program of scheduled special inspections may be substituted for interim inspections. In such cases, the inspection scope, schedule and findings must be documented and clearly demonstrate that the basis that is the cause for an interim inspection is being addressed. In no case shall such special inspections occur at an interval exceeding that required by an interim inspection.

      (b) Diving inspection.

      A bridge subject to the provisions of the code shall be designated as a bridge requiring diving inspection if it meets one or more of the following diving criteria:

3. (1) a bridge with any portion of a substructure exposed to water deeper than six (6.0) feet, during periods of normal low water, shall be designated for diving inspection;
4. (2) a bridge with any portion of a substructure exposed to water deeper than three (3.0) feet, but no deeper than six (6.0) feet, during periods of normal low water, may or may not be designated as a bridge requiring inspection by divers depending on the judgment of the responsible professional engineer in charge of diving inspection activity. In making this determination, the responsible professional engineer shall take into consideration, among other factors, structure type, materials of construction, foundation type, footing location relative to channel bottom, known or suspected problems, waterway characteristics, superstructure and substructure redundancy, etc. In making this evaluation and resulting determination, existing bridge records, including existing inspection information shall be reviewed; and

5. (3) a bridge with no portion of any substructure unit exposed to three (3.0) feet or more of water, during periods of normal low water, will normally not be designated for diving inspection.

   1. (i) Diving inspections may be performed as part of a general inspection, in-depth inspection, special inspection or as an independent inspection effort. When making determinations on the need for diving inspection, it must be recognized that bridges are constructed of differing structural configurations and situated in widely varying environments. This results in varying degrees of inspection difficulty, complexity, structural redundancy and structural sensitivity. Portions of the diving inspection criteria intentionally leave discretion to provide for proper bridge-by-bridge evaluation of the above and other factors in determining the need for a diving inspection.

   2. (ii) Diving inspections shall be performed at maximum inspection intervals of sixty (60) months. However, it shall be determined, on a bridge-by-bridge basis, if a complete or partial diving inspection is needed on a more frequent basis. If it is determined that more frequent diving inspections are needed, they shall be scheduled.

      (c) In-depth inspection.

      An in-depth inspection is a comprehensive detailed inspection of an entire bridge which frequently incorporates destructive, as well as, nondestructive inspection techniques. It is more complete and more intensive than a general inspection and the results of such an inspection can be used to satisfy the code requirements for a general inspection. In-depth inspections are performed on an as needed basis to assist in making bridge rehabilitation versus replacement decisions, and to assist in the development of bridge rehabilitation designs.

      (d) Special inspection.

      A special inspection is a unique inspection effort targeted at special situations or conditions and may be performed to study a unique or unusual bridge feature in greater detail than would have normally occurred during a general inspection. A special inspection may also be performed to monitor the condition of a specific bridge detail or situation on a repetitive basis and shall be performed whenever the structural integrity of a bridge is or has been threatened by a storm, flood, natural phenomenon, accident or man made occurrence. Due to the wide variability of situations and conditions requiring a special inspection, there can be no predetermined schedule or frequency interval for the performance of special inspections. Frequency intervals are determined based on the particular parameters of the different situations and conditions under consideration.

Bridge inspections shall fall into one or more of the following categories:

(a) General inspection.

A general inspection is the regularly scheduled inspection which each bridge receives throughout its life and which focuses on bridge condition, ability to function, safety and maintenance issues, and produces the basic statistical data necessary to understand, study, monitor and manage all bridges subject to this code. Where applicable, a general inspection shall be scheduled during periods of low water in order to minimize the need for a diving inspection. There are two types of general inspections, “biennial inspections” and “interim inspections,” as follows: