The hydraulic and structural adequacy of bridges on the local road system is a major concern to the local public agencies of Missouri. Local public agencies should conduct effective bridge evaluations to determine priorities for maintenance, rehabilitation and replacements. Many of these local public agencies and their political subdivisions have neither the funds nor the engineering expertise necessary to conduct effective bridge evaluations or determine bridge maintenance and repair priorities.

As a result, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has developed the BEAP program to provide Missouri’s local public agencies with the assistance necessary to complete bridge engineering studies.

The services of this program are used for bridges on local roads that are not part of the MoDOT road system, but are under the jurisdiction of local public agencies. These services are intended to evaluate the operational or structural conditions on an existing bridge, and are not intended for the development of detailed plans for new bridges. BEAP program services are not intended to duplicate services already available to local public agencies thru MoDOT district offices or Bridge Division. The consultant services provided under this program are intended to maximize the availability of professional advice or services to local public agencies. The BEAP program does not provide funding for construction or construction engineering services.

The BEAP program is generally limited to one study per bridge with the expectation that the local public agency would implement the recommendations from that study. Requests for additional studies for the same bridge typically are not approved unless the local public agency implemented the previous recommendations. If the previous recommendations were never implemented, the local public agency will need to provide a reasonable explanation as to why the previous recommendations were never implemented in order to be considered for another BEAP study. Studies for newly developed conditions on a bridge may be considered. When requesting a study, the local public agency should have the consultant address all of the operational or structural concerns that they may have for that bridge. Multiple studies on the same bridge to address issues on a “piece meal” basis will not be approved.