Asset Management Plan - Newcastle City Council

Bridges and Other Highway Structures Cycle Plan17.5 Performance GapsPerformance Gaps are a measure of the failures of a structure to meet thedemands of its construction. Failures are measured against individual demands.For example load carrying capacity of a road bridge should be 40 tonnes. Thiscapacity is measured through assessment. Where this capacity cannot beachieved and a weight restriction has to be imposed traffic surveys and localconsultation to identify specific needs in and around the structure will be carriedout. In addition a nominal height limit of 5.1m (16’ 6”) for road/rail bridges and5.4m (17’ 7”) for footbridges has been set as the maximum height for mostvehicles and any structures that provide less clearance than this are deemed tohave restricted headroom and must be signed accordingly.At present Newcastle has 19 bridges with varying weight restrictions which aresigned accordingly. The decision has been taken that these are not critical routesand the cost involved in bringing them up to the 40 tonne requirement cannot bejustified, although this decision is under continual review with regard to thedemand usage.There are also 40 structures with restricted headroom, which are signedaccordingly and again the decision has been made that as there are alternativeroutes available for high vehicles the cost involved in rectifying these cannot bejustified, again this decision is under continual review.17.6 Option Appraisal17.6.1 Routine MaintenanceRoutine Maintenance is the regular ongoing day-today work that comprisesservicing rather than repair and is necessary to keep assets operating, this doesnot cover the repair or renewal of structural elements or components which havebecome unserviceable due to general wear and tear or have deteriorated forother reasons. Routine maintenance activities are detailed in table 17.6.1.161