Abstract: In keeping with the requirements of the latest standards for calculating structures and bridges in Spain, EHE 2008 and EAE 2011, the inspection and maintenance plan developed for the "Constitución de 1812? bridge, over the Cádiz bay, includes a section dedicated to the inspection of cracks that can appear in the steel deck. The estimation of the critical sizes of such cracks was made by completing a structural integrity assessment of the bridge deck based on the BS7910 standard, obtaining a critical size of only 6 mm in certain structural details. These crack sizes cannot be detected by visual inspection, which is in practice the inspection method used in bridges. Thus, an alternative methodology for the structural integrity assessment of bridges is proposed, with the aim of applying it to the ?Constitución de 1812? bridge. The approach is based on the use of more refined (less conservative) calculation options according to the BS7910 standard, and on the consideration of structural redundancy criteria.

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