The mission of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department's Bridge Division is to provide plans and specifications for safe, efficient, cost effective, and aesthetically pleasing structures, evaluate existing structures for safety and function and manage and monitor present and future needs of existing bridges.
The division is composed of four Design Sections and a Structural Inventory and Rating Section. The current staff of 28 includes 24 graduate engineers.
1. The Design Sections are responsible for the design, plans, and specifications for safe, cost effective, and aesthetically pleasing structures. These structures include highway and pedestrian bridges over waterways, railroads, and other highways along with retaining walls and structural supports for highway signs. Bridge plans developed by a consultant are also reviewed by the Design Sections. Approximately 60 new bridges are designed each year.
2. The Structural Inventory and Rating Section is responsible for analyzing approximately 13,000 existing bridges to determine their safe load capacity and to organize and maintain their current load ratings and inspection data. This section also performs a structural analysis of an existing bridge to determine permit issuance for an overload vehicle.