Condition Assessment of Roadway Bridge Inventory in a Harsh Hot-Arid Climate

Bridges play an essential role in supporting economic development. Many highway bridges have been built in Saudi Arabia, with studies showing early signs of deterioration, including cracking and localized failures. This study presents a comprehensive condition assessment of roadway bridges located in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, based on a large-scale visual inspection campaign covering 283 bridges with varying ages, structural systems, dimensions, and operational conditions. The inspected bridges primarily consisted of reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete systems, with beam-type bridges representing the dominant structural configuration. The investigation identified and analyzed several deterioration mechanisms and defects affecting bridge performance and durability. This study highlights the influence of environmental exposure, insufficient maintenance practices, construction deficiencies, and traffic-related impacts on the observed deterioration patterns. The presented condition assessment database provides valuable insight into deterioration trends affecting bridge infrastructure in hot-arid environments and establishes a foundation for future deterioration modeling, maintenance prioritization, and bridge asset management applications in an area of limited similar studies. The outcomes of this work contribute to improving bridge inspection practices and supporting evidence-based maintenance and rehabilitation strategies for aging bridge infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and regions with similar climatic conditions.