Introduction. Conducting inspections of destroyed and damaged bridges is crucial for the process of restoring these structures as the quality and objectivity of the decisions made during the design and construction works will depend.
Problem Statement. In the course of Ukraine’s confrontation with the full-scale armed offensive of the russian federation, hundreds of bridges on roads of various administrative subordination were destroyed and damaged. The legislative and regulatory framework in Ukraine did not provide an algorithm for conducting inspections and restoration of destroyed buildings and structures at the time of the introduction of martial law.
Purpose. The purpose of the article is to highlight the experience of conducting inspections of destroyed and damaged bridges, as well as to highlight changes in legislation after the introduction of martial law aimed at regulating the processes of fixing, inspecting and restoring damaged and destroyed transport facilities.
Results. The article presents the results of inspections of about 40 damaged and destroyed structures on the roads of national importance in the regions where military operations took place during the martial law in Ukraine. The destruction of bridge structures is affected by various factors such as the nature of the explosion, the design of supports and spans, and the static scheme of the bridge.
Conclusions. The experience gained from the inspection of about 40 bridges damaged as a result of the armed invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation allows us to draw conclusions in two directions. First, the inspection of structures requires a professional and responsible approach from both the contractors and the balance holders (owners) in terms of formulating the inspection task and accepting the relevant technical documentation based on the inspection results. Secondly, there is a need to develop and update legal, regulatory and technical documents that would take into account the experience gained and be aimed at reducing the potential threat of bridge collapse and reducing the costs of their subsequent restoration.
