Task 122, FY 2000, Load Rating by Load and Resistance Factor Evaluation Method (LRFE), (Dennis Mertz). The AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures has adopted the Manual for Condition Evaluation and Load and Resistance Factor Rating (LRFR) of Highway Bridges, developed under NCHRP Project 12-46, as a guide. Nevertheless, because a comprehensive comparison of the LRFR load ratings and the existing load factor ratings (LFR) was not possible under the NCHRP project, full adoption of the new method has been deferred. The objective of Task 122 is to complete the needed comparison.

The objective of this project is to provide explicit comparisons between the ratings produced by the LRFR methods prescribed in the Guide Manual and the load factor ratings from the latest edition of the AASHTO Manual for Condition Evaluation of Bridges. The contractor's report on this study has been deliveredd to the Technical Committee for Bridge Management, Evaluation and Rehabilitation (T-18) of the AASHTO Highway Subcommitteee on Bridges and Structures. The recommendations from the study will be presented at the annual meeting of the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures in 2005. This project is complete.

The final report can be downloaded HERE.  (NCHRP Staff: D.B. Beal)