Summary:

The Michigan Department of Transportation owns and operates twelve movable bridges, comprised of eleven bascule bridges and one vertical-lift bridge. These bridges often have electrical and mechanical component failures or malfunctions which can cause unplanned maintenance, traffic disruptions, and navigational disruptions. This research evaluates their existing movable bridge maintenance program, identifies existing movable practices from the industry, and explores practices to reduce closures. While MDOT already performs several tasks informally, it is recommended that formal documentation for Communication Plans, Emergency Action Plans (EAP), preventative maintenance items/checklist (including backup system testing), Movable Bridge Design Guidelines, procedures for updating the as-built drawings, spare equipment data base and malfunction logs (with remedies) are developed. Other recommendations include the use of remote monitoring/troubleshooting which can be paired with advanced diagnostics and alarming. For technological advancements, I/O links provide a great opportunity to improve reliability as the devices can perform self- diagnostic techniques about device health.

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