Assessing the Adequacy of Existing Road Bridges from a Defence Perspective in the Light of Military Transport Development Tasks

Abstract

The mobility needs of the armed forces can be analysed to identify transport needs. Within the road transport sub-sector, there is a well-defined group of road bridges whose load capacity may be a limitation. The study presents the bridges with insufficient capacity identified in 2004 from a military point of view. The deficiencies identified for 17 of the 26 bridges are still valid today. The military load classification performed on the 17 bridge structures verifies a significantly higher load capacity than the civilian register. The examples presented demonstrate the need to renovate and strengthen old and poor bridges, while at the same time there are significant benefits to be gained from the introduction of military load classification.