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Bridge Inspection Projects

Washington, D.C. District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Bridge Inspections

Mercado Consultants, Inc. has provided bridge inspection services to our Nation's Capitol since 1996. Our NBIS-certified inspectors have inspected and developed inspection reports for most of the Washington, D.C. bridges in multiple cycles from 1996 through 2010, ranging in size from single span structures over roadways and/or waterways to large multi-span structures over major waterways including the Potomac River, the Anacostia River and the Washington Channel. Structure types included steel beams, concrete encased steel beams, concrete beams, concrete rigid frames, concrete slabs, concrete and stone masonry arches, steel trusses, concrete tunnels (some with ceramic tile fascia), as well as concrete and steel members inside cellular abutments. These bridge inspections were performed with the use of maintenance of traffic (lane closure) equipment and various inspection vehicles (e.g., snoopers, bucket trucks, JLG articulating boom lifts), as required.

County Bridge Inspections Within the State of Maryland – Multiple Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA) Contracts That Encompass All Counties Throughout Maryland

Mercado Consultants, Inc. has provided bridge inspection services to the Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA) since 1999. Our NBIS-certified inspectors have inspected and developed inspection reports for over 700 bridges in all 23 counties within the state of Maryland during the 1999-2010 inspection cycles, ranging in size from single span bridges to multi-span structures over roadways, waterways, and railroads, as well as single-cell and multi-cell culverts. Structure types included steel beams, concrete beams, concrete rigid frames, concrete slabs, concrete and stone masonry arches, steel trusses, steel acrow panel bridges, timber bridges including covered bridges, as well as concrete box culverts and steel pipe arch culverts. These bridge inspections were performed with the use of maintenance of traffic (lane closure) equipment and various inspection vehicles (e.g., snoopers, bucket trucks, JLG articulating boom lifts), as required. Mercado Consultants' NBIS-certified inspectors have also assisted MSHA in the inspection of bridges on Maryland state roadways.

Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) Bridge Inspections – Included as Part of Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA) Contracts for Anne Arundel County

As part of the Maryland State Highway Administration (MSHA) Contracts for Anne Arundel County, Mercado Consultants' NBIS-certified inspectors have inspected and developed inspection reports for over 20 bridges at and near the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) during the 2006 and 2010 inspection cycles -- ranging in size from single span structures over roadways and waterways, to structures exceeding 50 spans carrying traffic on the Upper Level Roadway over the Lower Level Roadway in front of the BWI Main Terminal.  Structure types included steel girders, steel girder/floor beam systems, concrete beams, concrete slabs, concrete girder/floor beam systems, as well as concrete box culverts. These bridge inspections were performed with the use of maintenance of traffic (lane closure) equipment and various inspection vehicles as required (e.g., bucket trucks, JLG articulating boom lifts, and at one structure a specialized all-terrain amphibious inspection vehicle with tracked wheels and a hydraulic lift was used to access the underside of the bridge due to the riprap-lined stormwater management pond beneath the structure).

Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) Bridge Inspections

Mercado Consultants' NBIS-certified inspectors provided hands-on bridge inspection services and developed inspection reports for 10 structures along Interstate 95 as part of the Fort McHenry Tunnel Facility during the 2010 inspection cycle -- ranging in size from single span bridges over roadways to structures exceeding 10 spans over roadways, waterways and railroads. Structure types included steel girders and multi-cell concrete box girders. These bridge inspections were performed with the use of maintenance of traffic (lane closure) equipment and various inspection vehicles as required (e.g., snoopers, bucket trucks, JLG articulating boom lifts), as well as the use of confined-space air monitoring equipment, harnesses and rescue tripods at two structures. In addition, Mercado Consultants inspected most of the sign structures along Interstate 95 in the Baltimore, Maryland area and North of Baltimore, Interstate 895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway), and Interstate 83 between Baltimore and the Maryland/ Pennsylvania border during 2007 and 2008.

United States Forest Service (USFS) Bridge Inspections

Mercado Consultants' NBIS-certified inspectors have inspected and developed inspection reports for over 300 bridges in USFS Southern Region 8 -- including the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia -- in multiple cycles from 2002 through 2007. The bridges ranged in size from single span structures to multi-span structures, all over waterways. Structure types included steel beams, concrete beams, timber bridges, as well as concrete box culverts and steel pipe arch culverts.