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State-SpecificOnline self-study

Alabama Bridge Program: ALDOT Inspection, Rating, Design and Repair

1 PDH · about 60 minutes · Course no. BR-X03 · Instructor: Michael Craig, PE

About the instructor

Michael Craig, PE is Senior Vice President and Southeast Director at Strinteg Corporation, leading bridge inspection and structural engineering across eight states and Puerto Rico. In 27+ years he has inspected over 4,000 structures and completed 3,000+ load ratings and 160+ load tests. He has managed repair and preservation design for complex bridges, including cable-stayed bridges. He holds PE licenses in twelve states, DC and Puerto Rico, SPRAT Level 1, and FAA Part 107 credentials.

Alabama's bridge program is run by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) under the National Bridge Inspection Standards, with ALDOT's own Bridge Inspection Manual adding state items, Alabama legal vehicles and a posting system based on how far a bridge falls below maximum legal load. This one-hour course places the ALDOT specifics next to the 2022 NBIS baseline: who may inspect and rate, intervals, critical findings, Alabama's seven rating vehicles, posting categories, SNBI coding changes, ALDOT design standards and Alabama repair practice.

⬇ Download study guide (PDF)

Learning objectives

  • Apply the 2022 NBIS baseline to Alabama practice
  • Use the state DOT's intervals, critical finding and rating rules
  • Coordinate inspection, load rating and posting
  • Apply the state DOT's bridge design and repair standards

Outline

  1. Why a Alabama-specific course
  2. The federal baseline you are measured against
  3. Who may inspect and rate in Alabama
  4. Alabama at a glance: the program and its documents
  5. Inspection types you will see in the bridge file
  6. Inspection intervals in Alabama
  7. Critical findings and urgent deficiencies in Alabama
  8. Load rating in Alabama
  9. Posting, closure and signs in Alabama
  10. Scour, underwater and waterway work in Alabama
  11. Load rating refresher: methods, vehicles and rating factors
  12. Quality control, quality assurance and the bridge file
  13. Locally owned bridges
  14. Writing an inspection report a load rater can use
  15. Southeast hazards: flood, hurricane, salt and trucks
  16. Preservation lessons from the Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership
  17. SNBI coding: what changes on the inspection form
  18. Permit loads and overweight vehicles
  19. Closing and reopening a bridge
  20. Ten common mistakes, and how to avoid them
  21. A team leader's field checklist
  22. Questions to ask before your first project in Alabama
  23. Bridge design in Alabama: ALDOT standards
  24. Bridge repair in Alabama
  25. Designing a repair in Alabama: the structural engineer's workflow
  26. Scenario: one bridge, start to finish, in Alabama
  27. Verify before you rely on it
  28. Open the course (33 screens, 2 knowledge checks)
  29. Final quiz — 10 questions, 70% to pass

References

  1. 23 CFR Part 650, Subpart C — National Bridge Inspection Standards (final rule published May 6, 2022)
  2. FHWA, Specifications for the National Bridge Inventory (SNBI), FHWA-HIF-22-017, March 2022
  3. AASHTO, The Manual for Bridge Evaluation, 3rd Edition, 2018 (with interim revisions)
  4. ALDOT, Bridge Inspection Manual, October 2021 (including Appendix I, load rating and posting)
  5. ALDOT Bridge Bureau, Structural Design Manual, revised January 2023
  6. ALDOT Bridge Quality Control and Quality Assurance Plan and Checklist, January 2021
  7. Egli, B. (TDOT), Preserving Tennessee's Bridge Decks and Joints, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, Atlanta, GA, April 2012
  8. Sloan, J., PE (NCDOT), Pee Dee River arch bridge feasibility study, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, April 2017
  9. Burgess & Niple, New River Gorge Bridge preservation, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, Charleston, WV, April 28-30, 2025
  10. eCFR, 23 CFR 650.311 and 650.313 (current text reviewed October 25, 2026)