Structural Assessment of In-Service Bridge-Mount-Truss Overhead Ancillary Structures in West Virginia

Numerous in-service weathering steel overhead ancillary structures are listed in State Department of Transportation inventories, and their assessment is crucial to maintain public safety. Structural evaluation of weathering steel bridge-mount-truss overhead ancillary structures in the state of West Virginia was performed to judge their safety and longevity. Comprehensive inspection forms were developed to assess the condition of thirteen ancillary structures. While visual inspection was performed for several structural elements, ultrasonic testing was successfully employed for anchor bolts, base plates, columns, and column-to-horizontal chords connections. A rating protocol was established to evaluate both the element-level and overall-level condition. Extensive rating criteria were employed to determine the element-level condition. Normalized ratio between overall assessment scores and maximum possible overall scores were calculated. Most of the ancillary structures performed satisfactorily after more than 40 years of service and exposure to environmental conditions. Although most of these structures received a fair condition rating, some of their elements received either a poor or severe condition rating. The ancillary structures with poor-to-severe condition ratings were recommended for further assessment using failure analyses.