KDOT Highway & Bridge Inspection Procedures 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When performing a paint condition assessment on a steel bridge, what does 'coating failure with substrate corrosion' indicate?
- The paint has faded but steel is protected
- The protective coating has broken down and active rust is forming on the steel (Correct answer)
- The steel has reached end of service life
- Galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals
Correct answer: The protective coating has broken down and active rust is forming on the steel
Coating failure with substrate corrosion means the protective paint system has deteriorated enough that moisture is reaching the steel and active corrosion has begun.
Question 2: In Kansas, which agency must be notified if a bridge inspection reveals a potential collapse risk to a structure carrying a state highway?
- Federal Highway Administration only
- KDOT Bureau of Local Projects
- KDOT Bridge Management and the Bureau of Transportation Safety (Correct answer)
- County engineer only
Correct answer: KDOT Bridge Management and the Bureau of Transportation Safety
Potential collapse risks on state highway bridges require immediate notification to KDOT Bridge Management and the Bureau of Transportation Safety to coordinate emergency response.
Question 3: A KDOT inspector notes that a bridge's vertical clearance has decreased since the last inspection. What is the most likely cause?
- Bridge deck resurfacing raising the road profile (Correct answer)
- Subsidence of the bridge foundation
- Increased traffic volume
- Thermal contraction of girders
Correct answer: Bridge deck resurfacing raising the road profile
Bridge deck overlays or resurfacing raise the roadway surface elevation, thereby reducing the vertical clearance between the road and any obstacle below.
Question 4: What inspection technique is primarily used to detect delamination in a concrete bridge deck without excavation?
- Visual inspection with binoculars
- Chain drag or sounding (Correct answer)
- Penetrating radar only
- Core sampling
Correct answer: Chain drag or sounding
Chain drag or hammer sounding detects delamination by the hollow sound produced when striking areas where the concrete has separated from the reinforcement or lower layers.
Question 5: Under the FHWA bridge inspection program, what is a 'special inspection'?
- An inspection performed by a FHWA engineer
- An inspection scheduled to monitor a known or suspected deficiency (Correct answer)
- An annual inspection of fracture-critical bridges
- An inspection conducted after a flood event only
Correct answer: An inspection scheduled to monitor a known or suspected deficiency
Special inspections are scheduled at intervals determined by the engineer to monitor the condition of a specific known deficiency or concern on a bridge.
Question 6: During pavement inspection, 'raveling' as a distress type refers to:
- Longitudinal wheel path depression
- Progressive disintegration of the pavement surface with loss of aggregate particles (Correct answer)
- Upward displacement of asphalt due to traffic
- Subsurface water movement
Correct answer: Progressive disintegration of the pavement surface with loss of aggregate particles
Raveling is the progressive wearing away of the pavement surface as aggregate particles become dislodged from the binder, creating a rough, loose surface.
Question 7: A Kansas inspector documents a bridge abutment showing forward rotation (tilting toward the stream). This condition most likely indicates:
- Normal thermal movement of the structure
- Foundation movement due to scour, undermining, or soil failure (Correct answer)
- Expansion joint malfunction
- Shrinkage of the backwall concrete
Correct answer: Foundation movement due to scour, undermining, or soil failure
Forward rotation of an abutment toward the stream typically signals foundation movement caused by scour undermining the footing or failure of the supporting soil.
KDOT Highway & Bridge Inspection Procedures 5
When performing a paint condition assessment on a steel bridge, what does 'coating failure with substrate corrosion' indicate?