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<br />the following sections some of the most pressing research needs <br />will be described. <br /> <br />1. Field Measurements of Scour. The. current equations and <br />methods for estimating scour at bridges are based mainly <br />on laboratory research. Very little field data has been <br />collected to verify the applicability and accuracy of the <br />various design procedures for the range of soil <br />conditions, stream flow conditions, and bridge designs <br />encountered throughout the United States. In particular, <br />States are encouraged to initiate studies for the <br />purpose of obtaining field measurements of scour and <br />related hydraulic conditions at bridges for evaluating, <br />verifying and improving existing scour prediction <br />methods. Several States have already initiated <br />cooperative studies with the Water Resources Division of <br />the U. S. Geological Survey to collect scour data at <br />existing bridges, A model cooperative agreement with the <br />US Geological Survey for purposes of conducting a 5cour <br />study was included in the report "Interim Procedures for <br />Evaluating Scour at Bridges," which accompanied the <br />September 1988 Technical Advisory (5). <br /> <br />2. Scour monitorinq and Measurement Equipment. There is a <br />need for the development of instruments and equipment to <br />indicate when a bridge is in danger of collapsing, Many <br />bridges in the United States were constructed prior to the <br />development of scour estimation technology. Some of these <br />bridges have scour vulnerable foundations. It is not <br />economically feasible to repair or replace these bridges at <br />once. Therefore, these bridges need to be monitored during <br />floods and closed before they fail. At this time there are <br />a few devices to monitor bridge scour, but such devices <br />cannot be used on all bridge geometries. Furthermore, the <br />reliability of these devices has not been fully determined. <br /> <br />There is also the need to develop instrumentation to <br />measure scour depths during and after a flood event, <br />well, instrumentation is needed to determine unknown <br />foundations. <br /> <br />As <br />bridge <br /> <br />The FHWA in cooperation with the states and the <br />Transportation Research Board has initiated several <br />research projects to develop scour monitoring and measuring <br />instruments. <br /> <br />3. Scour Analvsis Software. There is a continued need for the <br />development and maintenance of computer software for the <br />analysis of all aspects of scour at bridges. The FHWA has <br /> <br />3 <br />