
TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE
1. Report No. FHWA-
NHI-23-024 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No.
4. Title a nd Subtitle
Bridge Inspector’s Reference Manual (BIRM) 5. Report Date
Ma rch 2023
6. Performing Organization Code:
7. Author(s)
Thomas W. Rya n, P.E., Ca ssandra E. Lloyd, P.E., Micha el S.
Pichura, P.E., Darrin M. Ta rasovich, P.E., and Sandy
Fitzgerald
8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
Micha el Ba ker International, Inc.
Airside Business Park, 100 Airside Drive
Moon Township, PA 15108
10. Work Unit No.
11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH6117D00036L–693JJ318F000369
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Federa l Highway Administration
Na tional Highway Institute
2600 Park Tower Drive, Suite 500
Vienna, VA 22180
13. Type of Report and Period
Revised Reference Manual: March 2023
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
OTWDTD-IMEP-I WD-NHI
15. Supplementary Notes
Performing Orga nization’s Principal Investigator: Thomas W. Ryan, P.E.
Performing Orga nization’s Technical Leads: Cassandra E. Lloyd, P.E., and Michael S. Pichura, P.E.
FHWA Contracting Officer’s Representative: Melonie Barrington, Ed.D., M.E., P.E., PMP and Mignon J. Whitted
Tea m Leaders, FHWA Technical Review Team: Dennis O’Shea, P.E. and John Thiel, P.E.
16. Abstract
This document, the Bridge Inspector’s Reference Manual (BIRM), is a comprehensive reference manual on
programs, procedures, and techniques for inspecting a nd evaluating a variety of in-service highway bridges. It was
intended to replace the BITM 90 which was first published in 1991 to assist in training highway personnel for the
new discipline of bridge safety inspection. BITM 90 replaced BITM 70 which had been in use for 20 years and has
been the basis for several training programs varying in length from a few days to two weeks.
The BIRM is a revision and upgrade of the previous manual conforming with FHWA Specifications for the
National Bridge Inventory (SNBI). Improved bridge inspection techniques are presented, and state-of-the-art
inspection equipment is included. New or expanded coverage is provided on culverts, nonredundant members,
fatigue-prone details, redundancy, cable stayed bridges, prestressed segmental bridges, movable bridge inspection,
underwater inspection, and nondestructive evaluation, critical findings, a nd inspection intervals.
A series of NHI courses on bridge inspection, based on the BIRM, have been developed. These courses include a
two-week course, FHWA-NHI-130055, “Safety Inspection of In-Service Bridges” and a one-week course designed
specifically for professional engineers (PEs), FHWA-NHI-130056, “Safety Inspection of In-Service Bridges for
Professional Engineers.” Together, these two courses meet the definition of approved comprehensive training in
bridge inspection as defined in the National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS).
The ca talog for NHI Courses can be found on the National Highwa y Institute website: www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov
17. Key Words
Bridge Inspection, Bridge Evaluation, Element Level
Evaluation, Component Rating, Culvert Inspection,
Critical Findings, Nonredundant Steel Tension
Members, Underwater Inspection
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the
public through the National Technical Information
Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
http://www.ntis.gov
19. Security Classification (of this
report) Unclassified 20. Security Classification (of this
pa ge) Uncla ssified 21. No. of Pages
1412 22. Price
Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized