<i>BridgeDex</i>: Proposed Web GIS Platform for Managing and Interrogating Multiyear and Multiscale Bridge-Inspection Images

Abstract

Current bridge inspectors commonly collect high-definition digital photographs of bridge members and connections at different scales when performing inspections over multiple years. Metric images are advantageous for bridge condition evaluation, locating defects, and quantifying and documenting changes that occur over the time. To organize and leverage multiscale, multiyear imagery, an approach is proposed and a prototype web-based tool named BridgeDex is developed within a geographic information system (GIS) framework. Using the approach, the spatial and temporal information for each image are attributed and then linked with other bridge metadata, including inspection notes, design drawings, and possible destructive and nondestructive test results. Over the Internet, users can view the georeferenced imagery across various scales and across different inspection time intervals. The tool is designed to present high-resolution inspection imagery and metadata to users while only requiring a web browser and an internet connection. This tool synthesizes bridge inspection data in an intuitive way to enhance bridge management, and decision and policy making.