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State-SpecificOnline self-study

Tennessee Bridge Program: TDOT Inspection, Rating, Design and Repair

1 PDH · about 60 minutes · Course no. BR-X09 · 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.

Tennessee's bridge program is run by TDOT's Structures Division, which inspects state and local bridges statewide. Because TDOT's inspection manual is not public, this one-hour course is built around the 2022 NBIS as TDOT applies it, TDOT's published load rating expectations, Tennessee's deck and joint preservation practice as presented to the Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership, and TDOT's Structural Design Guidelines and standard repair drawings.

⬇ Download study guide (PDF)

Learning objectives

  • Apply the 2022 NBIS baseline to Tennessee 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 Tennessee-specific course
  2. The federal baseline you are measured against
  3. Who may inspect and rate in Tennessee
  4. Tennessee at a glance: the program and its documents
  5. Inspection types you will see in the bridge file
  6. Inspection intervals in Tennessee
  7. Critical findings and urgent deficiencies in Tennessee
  8. Load rating in Tennessee
  9. Posting, closure and signs in Tennessee
  10. Scour, underwater and waterway work in Tennessee
  11. Tennessee deck and joint preservation (SEBPP)
  12. Load rating refresher: methods, vehicles and rating factors
  13. Quality control, quality assurance and the bridge file
  14. Locally owned bridges
  15. Writing an inspection report a load rater can use
  16. Southeast hazards: flood, hurricane, salt and trucks
  17. Preservation lessons from the Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership
  18. SNBI coding: what changes on the inspection form
  19. Permit loads and overweight vehicles
  20. Closing and reopening a bridge
  21. Ten common mistakes, and how to avoid them
  22. A team leader's field checklist
  23. Questions to ask before your first project in Tennessee
  24. Bridge design in Tennessee: TDOT standards
  25. Bridge repair in Tennessee
  26. Designing a repair in Tennessee: the structural engineer's workflow
  27. Scenario: one bridge, start to finish, in Tennessee
  28. Verify before you rely on it
  29. Open the course (34 screens, 2 knowledge checks)
  30. 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. TDOT Structures Division, public program description
  5. TDOT, request for proposals for bridge load rating services, March 2024
  6. TDOT Structures Division, Structural Design Guidelines SDG-2 through SDG-18 (chapter dates 2022-2026)
  7. TDOT Structural Design Memorandum SDM 20-01, Steel Tension Flange Stress Limited to Yield Stress, July 31, 2020
  8. TDOT Standard Structures Drawings (New Structures, LRFD Box Culverts, Bridge Repairs)
  9. Egli, B. (TDOT), Preserving Tennessee's Bridge Decks and Joints, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, Atlanta, GA, April 2012
  10. Sloan, J., PE (NCDOT), Pee Dee River arch bridge feasibility study, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, April 2017
  11. Burgess & Niple, New River Gorge Bridge preservation, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, Charleston, WV, April 28-30, 2025
  12. eCFR, 23 CFR 650.311 and 650.313 (current text reviewed October 25, 2026)