FOI request detail

Bridge Condition FOI Request

Request ID: FOI-3154-2324
Date published: 24 January 2024

You asked
The definition of a “road bridge” in the ‘Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure A Code of Practice’ is a structure with a span of 1.5m or more providing public highway passage for motor vehicles over an obstacle such as a watercourse, railway, road or valley. Using this definition, please provide the following information for all road bridges for which you own as highway authority, including those which are jointly owned with another authority, but for which you are the lead authority (N.B. if your management system is based on an alternative definition (e.g. 0.9m or 1.8m spans) you are welcome to provide this data but please indicate clearly what definition you have used. These Questions All Relate To The Financial Year 2022/2023 These questions largely mirror ones which we have asked your organisation in previous years. However, please note – that following feedback on last years survey, we have made some minor changes to some questions, and this has also affected question numbering towards the end of the survey. 1. How many road bridges are you responsible for maintaining? 2. For the last financial year 2022/23 (i) how many Principal Inspections have taken place in that year? (ii) how many Principal Inspections did you plan to do in that year? 3. For the last financial year 2022/23 (i) how many General Inspections have taken place in that year? (ii) how many General Inspections did you plan to do in that year? 4. For the last financial year 2022/23 how many Structural Reviews did you undertake? 5. How many substandard bridges do you have (in terms of ability to carry 44t vehicles)? Please exclude bridges that have weight restrictions for environmental reasons. 6. Of these substandard bridges, how many do you intend to return or upgrade to full load carrying capacity in the next 5 years? 7. How many bridges would you return to full load carrying capacity if you had no resource restrictions? 8. (i) How many post-tensioned bridges do you have? (ii) How many of those have had PTSIs within the last 18 years? (iii) Of those that have not had a PTSI, how many require/are due one? (iv) How much funding would you anticipate is required to remove the backlog of PTSIs for those bridges identified in Q8(iii)? 9. In monetary terms, what is the current Depreciation (i.e. difference between your GRC and DRC for 2022/23? 10. What is the calculated value of your workbank? (Workbank is defined as the total value of condition-based maintenance work that has been identified and can be calculated using SAVI or by other means) 11. (i) What is the annual revenue works expenditure for maintaining your bridge stock (excluding staff costs)? (ii) What is the annual capital works expenditure for maintaining your bridges stock? (iii) What total budget would you estimate is required to maintain the bridge stock at its current level (standstill budget)? 12. For the last financial year: 2022/23 (i) How many of your bridges required a Stage 1 Scour Assessment? (ii) How many Stage 1 Scour Assessments did you undertake? 13. For the last financial year: 2022/23 (i) How many of your bridges required a Stage 2 Scour Assessment? (ii) How many Stage 2 Scour Assessments did you undertake? 14. (i) How many bridges under your management completely collapsed in 2022/23? (ii) How many bridges under your management partially collapsed in 2022/23? (iii) Would you be happy to share the detail with members of the UK Bridges Board? Y/N 15. What was your Bridge Stock Condition Index (BSCI) at the end of 2022/23 (or current if easier)? 16. What issues with managing your bridge stock causes you most concern?

We answered

Our Ref:         FOI-3154-2324

Thank you for your request received on 4 December 2023 asking for information about the road bridges maintained by Transport for London (TfL).

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require.
All bridges that have capacity or weight restrictions remain safe for people to use within these restrictions.

Please find the requested information in the table below:
 
 Response
1. How many road bridges are you responsible for maintaining? 317
2. For the last financial year 2022/23 (Note: the figures below are for all highway structures)
(i) how many Principal Inspections have taken place in that year?158
(ii) how many Principal Inspections did you plan to do in that year?193
3. For the last financial year 2022/23 (Note: the figures below are for all highway structures)
(i) how many General Inspections have taken place in that year?406
(ii) how many General Inspections did you plan to do in that year?453
4. For the last financial year 2022/23 how many Structural Reviews did you undertake?45
5. How many substandard bridges do you have (in terms of ability to carry 44t vehicles)? Please exclude bridges that have weight restrictions for environmental reasons. 15
6. Of these substandard bridges, how many do you intend to return or upgrade to full load carrying capacity in the next 5 years? 6
7. How many bridges would you return to full load carrying capacity if you had no resource restrictions? 15
8. (i) How many post-tensioned bridges do you have?90
(ii) How many of those have had PTSIs within the last 18 years? 72
(iii) Of those that have not had a PTSI, how many require/are due one? 16
(iv) How much funding would you anticipate is required to remove the backlog of PTSIs for those bridges identified in Q8(iii)?Approx. £3.5m to £5.5m
9. In monetary terms, what is the current Depreciation (i.e. difference between your GRC and DRC for 2022/23?The Whole Government Accounts (WGA) figures for 2022/2023 have not been provided to the Department for Transport so this information is not available.
10. What is the calculated value of your workbank? (Workbank is defined as the total value of condition-based maintenance work that has been identified and can be calculated using SAVI or by other means)£850-£1050M (not including inflation)
11. (i) What is the annual revenue works expenditure for maintaining your bridge stock (excluding staff costs)?TfL does not have a separate core service lump sum for bridge maintenance so are unable to separate out lump sum costs. The total lump sum amount under the current contract for 2022/23 is £34,001,427.84 covering all asset types. Because of the change in contracts over previous years, the data is not comparable.

Condition Inspections Core Services - £69,732.66
Structures General Inspections - £804,956.75
Structures Principal Inspections - £1,718,353.66
Structures Reactive Inspections - £34,988.60
Structures Ordered Maintenance - £1,348,752.43
Structures Interim Measures (Monitoring) - £2,600,091.21
Total: £6,576,875.31
(ii) What is the annual capital works expenditure for maintaining your bridges stock? c. £20m
(iii) What total budget would you estimate is required to maintain the bridge stock at its current level (standstill budget)? £120-150m including major projects
12. For the last financial year 2022/23
(i) How many of your bridges required a Stage 1 Scour Assessment?119
(ii) How many Stage 1 Scour Assessments did you undertake?0
13. For the last financial year 2022/23
(i) How many of your bridges required a Stage 2 Scour Assessment?0
(ii) How many Stage 2 Scour Assessments did you undertake?0
14. (i) How many bridges under your management completely collapsed in 2022/23?0
(ii) How many bridges under your management partially collapsed in 2022/23?0
(iii) Would you be happy to share the detail with members of the UK Bridges Board? Y/NYes
15. What was your Bridge Stock Condition Index (BSCI) at the end of 2022/23 (or current if easier)?BSCI Critical – 62.15. BSCI Average – 82.77
16. What issues with managing your bridge stock causes you most concern?Availability of sustainable capital funding for investment to undertake necessary asset renewal and capacity to execute the works.
 
If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

[email protected]

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