9422226 Klaiber About one-half of the approximately 600,000 highway bridges in the United States were built before 1940 and many have not been adequately maintained. Deterioration caused by environmental factors has added to the problem. According to the FHWA, 40% of the nation's bridges are classified as deficient and in need of rehabilitation or replacement. In lieu of replacement in numerous instances strengthening has been determined to be a cost- effective alternative. Many researchers institutes, university, and consulting offices have developed various efficient bridge rehabilitation and strengthening procedures. To provide a forum for disseminating "tried and true" rehabilitation and strengthening procedures practicing bridge engineers, an NSF- sponsored symposium was held in Des Moines, Iowa in April 1993. There is need for a second bridge strengthening/rehabilitation symposium in that there are still major bridge problems and a considerable amount of design and research has been completed within the last two years. Therefore, a second symposium, open to all interested engineers, will be followed by a workshop of invited participants to formulate a manual on bridge strengthening and rehabilitation based on the presentations at both symposiums. The final manual will be prepared by the symposium steering committee and made available to designers in both public and private practice. ***
