Find the answers to these questions in the text.

1. What are the responsibilities of the State Acceptance Committee?

2. Why is it necessary to examine every structure?

3. When may the bridge be transferred to the railway subdivision?

4. Who performs the engineering supervision and inspection of long bridges?

5. What are the functions of a maintenance crew?

6. How many assessment stages can be defined in bridge conditions?

7. Why is constant bridge maintenance at the Trans-Siberian Railway required?

Complete the following sentences:

1. Bridge inspection involves ………………………………………

a) the inspection of bridge components and joints;

b) the verification of technical documentation;

c) the determination of forces in bridge elements.

2. The damage and defects of long bridges under operation are discovered by …

a) the State Acceptance Committee

b) a bridge supervisor

c) a maintenance supervisor.

3. If a bridge is erected according to the Building Specifications issued in 1907..…………………………………………………………………………..

a) this bridge can carry modern rolling stock.

b) it is necessary to determine the bridge carrying capacity.

c) it cannot provide safe passage for modern rolling stock.

Match the equivalents:

Read the text and find the equivalents for the following terms:

Большие эксплуатационные затраты, дефект материала, ледоход, нержавеющая сталь, оседание грунта, ослабление болтов, паводок, подмыв опор, покраска, разрыв сварочного шва, скол, смещение опор, трещина, удаление грязи, удаление песка, усадочная раковина, эксплуатация, гнить, изнашиваться, ржаветь.

All bridge types have their own peculiarities, and maintenance crews have to take them into consideration. In the case of short span bridges (between 2 and 6 m) made of timber, the most complicated maintenance problems are ice drift and flood water. Bridge scouring caused by rushing water may result in support displacement. In addition, timber can decay and suffer from fire.

Metal structures also demand appropriate care because their elements and joints become rusty. Salt particles have an influence on steel components of the bridge because seawater can induce corrosion. That is why metal bridges need painting or some other treatment, and stainless steel is too expensive. Torque retention loss and high-strength bolts and rivets weakening as well as welding damage call for permanent and qualified inspection.

Reinforced concrete bridges do not require heavy maintenance cost when they are built without any engineering faults. However, fractures and cracks, concrete spalling and reinforcement, corrosion, cissing, holes, and shrinkage cavities may frequently appear. The most hazardous defects, especially for supports, may appear when concrete hardens. In addition, the displacement of supports is a serious threat to the bridge’s foundation especially in the case of soft ground. Culverts need careful inspection, cleaning and such work as desilting and desanding before each flood. Some culvert sections might be displaced due to soil settlement in the embankment.

Role-play. “On-site review and visual inspection of the bridge components”

For this activity, you need to act in pairs. Assess the stage of the bridge’s condition and suggest your plan and ideas for current running service or general overhaul. Student A is the head of the maintenance crew. Student B is a supervisor. The rest of the students are the members of the crew.

Decide what you are going to say so that your behavior is a real-life performance. Make a list of problems you have to solve. Number them in order of importance. Do not forget about correct grammar and relevant vocabulary.