Abstract
The article presents issues related to the maintenance of small engineering structures, such as footbridges over railways. These types of objects, usually are simple both in structure and construction. Design and construction errors usually, do not endanger the safety of the structure, although unrepaired ones may shorten the usability of the object. Particular attention should be paid to the elements of drainage, because effective rainwater management has significant influence to engineering structures usability. Regular inspections should ensure the operation of facilities that allow to avoid excessive deterioration of functional properties or maintaining objects in a proper technical and aesthetic condition. Structural collapses, that took place between 2014 and 2017 constitute only 2.85% [3], which indicates the improvement of quality of both design and implementation. However, it should be noted that maintenance errors are the second cause of structural failures. Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize crucial role of people performing periodic inspections of buildings, whose recommendations should be adhered and implemented by facility managers. The article presents examples of two footbridges over railways, that due to improper maintenance were excluded from use. Further operation of these footbridges threatened with construction collapse.
Highlights
Bridges are sensitive points in the road network, which often decide about usability of the roads
Collapses of engineering structures are quite rare, when they occur during operation, they always cause significant material damage and a relatively large number of fatalities and injuries [6, 7]
The technical condition of the footbridge indicated an immediate threat of a construction disaster, the footbridge was qualified for immediate exclusion from use
Summary
Bridges are sensitive points in the road network, which often decide about usability of the roads. The bridges should be designed and constructed in the way that ensure their durability, understood as the usability of objects while maintaining the strength and performance characteristics, in the assumed period of use and level of maintenance. During periodic structural inspections the degree of degradation of the structure (e.g. by measuring corrosion losses) should be determined. These inspections should include checking the layout of the structure and the actual parameters of embedded materials [10, 11]. Comprehensive assessment of the degree of degradation and determining causes of defects and damage allows to decide properly about the further use of the object
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