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State-SpecificOnline self-study

Virginia Bridge Program: VDOT Inspection, Load Rating, Design and Repair

1 PDH · about 60 minutes · Course no. BR-X10 · 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.

Virginia's bridge program is governed by VDOT's Structure and Bridge Division instructional memoranda, which are among the most current in the Southeast. VDOT reduces inspection intervals at a condition rating of 4, requires a new load rating whenever a General Condition Rating falls to 4 or below, uses condition factors in LRFR, and requires central office notification when a rating cannot be finished in 3 months. This one-hour course covers those rules plus VDOT's jointless design policy and repair practice.

⬇ Download study guide (PDF)

Learning objectives

  • Apply the 2022 NBIS baseline to Virginia 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 Virginia-specific course
  2. The federal baseline you are measured against
  3. Who may inspect and rate in Virginia
  4. Virginia at a glance: the program and its documents
  5. Inspection types you will see in the bridge file
  6. Inspection intervals in Virginia
  7. Critical findings and urgent deficiencies in Virginia
  8. Load rating in Virginia
  9. Posting, closure and signs in Virginia
  10. Scour, underwater and waterway work in Virginia
  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 Virginia
  23. Bridge design in Virginia: VDOT standards
  24. Bridge repair in Virginia
  25. Designing a repair in Virginia: the structural engineer's workflow
  26. Scenario: one bridge, start to finish, in Virginia
  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. VDOT, IIM-S&B-27.14, Bridge Safety Inspections, August 14, 2025
  5. VDOT, IIM-S&B-86.5, Load Rating and Posting of Structures, June 12, 2025
  6. VDOT, Guide for Bridge Load Posting and Closures
  7. VDOT Manual of the Structure and Bridge Division (Volume V, design aids and LRFD modifications)
  8. Egli, B. (TDOT), Preserving Tennessee's Bridge Decks and Joints, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, Atlanta, GA, April 2012
  9. Sloan, J., PE (NCDOT), Pee Dee River arch bridge feasibility study, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, April 2017
  10. Burgess & Niple, New River Gorge Bridge preservation, Southeast Bridge Preservation Partnership meeting, Charleston, WV, April 28-30, 2025
  11. eCFR, 23 CFR 650.311 and 650.313 (current text reviewed October 25, 2026)