Frequently Asked Questions
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New users can start exploring the “Data” module on the home page by selecting filter criteria through the “Find Bridges” option provided on the left-hand side. Once a bridge selection is made, click the “Show Bridges” button to display the list of the selected bridges. Then, start exploring … The “About” button for each Tab provides a general explanation of its function.

National Bridge Inventory (NBI) and National Bridge Element (NBE) data for highway bridges are available. Climate data, Long Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) data, and data collected by other research programs are also provided.

NBI, NBE, and Climate data are updated once a year.

Selecting bridges can be accomplished through using filters or through a graphical interface. Filters criteria are set through “Find Bridges” or “Advanced Find”. The “Find Bridges” feature allows the user to filter data using common criteria. If the criteria do not meet the user’s needs, the “Advanced Find” feature provides additional attributes for each data set, so users can customize filters in much greater details. The “Map Find” feature provides the user the ability to graphically select bridges on the map by drawing geometrical shapes that include or exclude desired bridges.

By using “Save Filter Criteria” under the "Find" Options menu, the user can save the filters for future use.

Click the funnel symbol () to the right of the number of bridges.

Columns can be added using the Select Fields option under the Table Options menu. For removing and reordering of columns, the Remove/Order Fields icon () can be used which opens a pop up menu for either deleting or reordering columns. In addition, users may save their layout to be reused in the future. Reordering columns is also achieved by selecting, dragging, and dropping the columns at desired locations within the Selected Bridges table.

An “Export Data” function is provided under the Table Options menu. This function exports all data as shown in the “Selected Bridges” table layout.

One of the following two methods can be used:

  • The “Save” function is provided for most figures and charts in InfoBridge™. You can save them as PNG files by clicking the button in the top-right corner.
  • You can capture screenshots and paste them into your files.

InfoBridge Update Notes are located within the Library section.

Bridge conditions are determined in accordance with 23 CFR 490.409

InfoBridge uses the climate data from Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) which is provided by NASA. Climatic data are based on the location (latitude and longitude) as stored in the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) database for each bridge. Only the climatic data for land locations and non-null longitude and latitude values are available. If the NBI location does not point to a land location, there will be no climatic data displayed.