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To make sure that the bridges across India remains safe, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on 4 October 2016 launched the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS) in New Delhi.
IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in the country and rate their structural condition so that timely repair and rehabilitation work can be carried out based on the criticality of the structure.
Major Highlights of Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS)
IBMS is the largest platform in the world owned by a single owner, with database that could exceed one lakh fifty thousand bridge structures.
So far one lakh and fifteen thousand bridges have been inventorized, of which eighty five thousands are culverts and the rest are bridges.
At the time of creation, each bridge was assigned with a unique identification number or National Identity Number based on the state, RTO zone and whether it is situated on a National Highway, State Highway or is a district road.
The precise location of the bridge in terms of latitude-longitude was collected through GPS and based on the same the bridge was assigned a Bridge Location Number.
It also noted the engineering characteristics like the design, materials, type of bridge, its age, loading, traffic lane, length, width of carriage way and others, which will be used to assign a Bridge Classification Number to the structure.
These bridges are provided a structural rating for each component of the structure on the scale of 0 to 9.
In addition to the structural rating, the bridges are also being assigned Socio-Economic Bridge Rating Number which will decide the importance of the structure in relation to its contribution to daily socio-economic activity of the area in its vicinity.
Every bridge is also assigned a Structural Rating Number.
Why IBMS is required?
Lack of any data on the bridges across India has led to a situation in which there is no clarity about the exact number, location and condition of bridge. Bridges in poor conditions hampers efficient transport and also leads to accidents and loss of lives on several occasions.
IBMS aims to fill this gap by preparing a data base of all bridges in the country. It will also detail their structural condition, which will help the government to take a decision on repairing the existing bridge or build new ones in their place.
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