Author: Sharanya Rao

The AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Task Force is pleased to deliver version 7.8.0 of the AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating (BrDR) product.

This release adds the following capabilities and features:

1. Substructure reinforced concrete pier cap LRFR analysis
2. Next generation of Report Tool Phase 2 – Phase 2 completed the Bridge Workspace reporting for all superstructure types and started the implementation of analysis output data reporting
3. Data exchange through BrM 7’s AASHTOWare OpenAPI connection
4. Analysis runtime performance and memory usage improvements
5. AASHTO Analysis Engine output data management and reporting improvements
6. Top voted RADBUG enhancements
   • BSSD-1891 Tabular results filter by action and limit state
   • BSSD-3361 Tabular results update for Safe Posting Load
7. 15 BSSD Maintenance tasks – See the release notes for details

7.8.0 addressed 142 BrDR Support Service Desk (BSSD) incidents.  See the release notes for more information.

The 7.8.0 release download package, with Bridge Design and Rating is provided in accordance with your AASHTO license agreement.  Installation instructions are provided within the AASHTOWare Bridge Startup Guide in the download package.

Software distribution is processed based on the information the organization provides when the software is licensed. The 7.8.0 release download package will be distributed to the organization’s shipping designee and listed end user. Software distribution to all licensees will be completed within 5 working days from this announcement. A follow-up email will be sent upon completion of the distribution.

Please direct any questions to AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Technical Support at BrDR@promiles.com.

The Bridge Design and Rating Newsletter is available online!

Read about all of this in the June 2026 Newsletter.

• AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating (BrDR) 7.8 Beta Testing Update
• 2026 RADBUG Registration is Now Open!
• BrDR Analysis TAG Recent Activities At a Glance
• BrDR 7.9 Enhancements in the Works
• Upcoming Webinar | Maximizing the Impact of AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating (BrDR) Service Units

Check out the following technical note posted on the AASHTOWare BrDR Technical Support website at https://aashtowarebrdr.org/ on April 10, 2026. To access BrDR Technical Notes, navigate to the Bridge Design and Rating menu at the top, select Technical Notes from the menu, and login using brdr.

• Technical Note 89 – Culvert control option: Ignore effects from negligible LL – BrR versions 7.3 through 7.7 include a culvert rating control option that allows live load effects to be neglected when the factored vertical live load pressure at the surface is less than 10 percent of the combined factored vertical earth load and vertical live load pressure, per the 2022 interim to the 3rd Edition of the Manual for Bridge Evaluation. When this option is enabled, BrR may report a blanket rating factor of 99.0 even when the dead load exceeds the culvert capacity, resulting in incorrect rating results. There is no current workaround. This issue will be corrected in BrR version 7.8. See Technical Note 89 – Culvert control option: Ignore effects from negligible LL for more information.

Please direct any questions to AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Technical Support at BrDR@promiles.com.

The Bridge Design and Rating Newsletter is available online!

Read about all of this in the March 2026 Newsletter.

• Pier Cap Rating and Substructure Enhancements
• BrDR Database Hosting Services
• BSSD Knowledge Base
• Save the Date 2026 Joint RADBUG & BrMUG
• How West Virginia is Leveraging AASHTOWare PermitRoute and AASHTOWare Bridge Rating
• 2026 AASHTOWare Connect

The AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Task Force is pleased to deliver version 7.7.1 of the AASHTOWare Bridge Design (BrD) and AASHTOWare Bridge Rating (BrR) products and the combined Design and Rating product (BrDR).

7.7 Maintenance Update 1 (version 7.7.1) addressed 2 BrDR Support Service Desk (BSSD) incidents:

• BSSD-5709 – Bridge parameters XML version conversion issue
• BSSD-5713 – Bridge Description (cont’d) tab parameters not visible – Oracle

Special Notes:

• 7.7.1 does not require a BrDR database migration and the installer provides the option to upgrade your 7.7.0 installation to 7.7.1.

The 7.7.1 release download package, with Bridge Design, Bridge Rating, or both, is provided in accordance with your AASHTO license agreement.  Installation instructions are provided within the AASHTOWare Bridge Startup Guide in the download package.

Software distribution is processed based on the information the organization provides when the software is licensed. The 7.7.1 release download package will be distributed to the organization’s shipping designee and listed end user. Software distribution to all licensees will be completed within 5 working days from this announcement. A follow-up email will be sent upon completion and provide information on the learning resources available for the new capabilities and features.

Please direct any questions to AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Technical Support at BrDR@promiles.com.

Check out the following technical notes posted on the AASHTOWare BrDR Technical Support website at https://aashtowarebrdr.org/ on February 05, 2026. To access BrDR Technical Notes, navigate to the Bridge Design and Rating menu at the top, select Technical Notes from the menu, and login using brdr.

• Technical Note 87 – Bridge Parameters XML Version Conversion Issue – BrDR version 7.7.1 corrects an issue in the XML version conversion process where bridge parameter information on the Description (cont’d) tab of the Bridge Description window was not imported when bringing bridges into the software. This behavior occurred only during XML import and did not affect database migration. The update ensures that all parameter information on this tab is now imported consistently during XML version conversion. See Technical Note 87 – Bridge Parameters XML Version Conversion for more information.

Please direct any questions to AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Technical Support at BrDR@promiles.com.

The Bridge Design and Rating Newsletter is available online!

Read about all of this in the December 2025 Newsletter.

• 2025 RADBUG Enhancement Voting Results
• Explore BrDR’s Library of On-demand Videos
• Save the Date for the 2026 Joint RADBUG and BrMUG
• AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Task Force

The Bridge Design and Rating Newsletter is available online!

Read about all of this in the June 2025 Newsletter.

• FY26 AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating (BrDR) Version Support Policy
• BrDR Spotlight – California Department of Transportation
• An improved category structure for better organizing the tutorials
• FY26-FY30 Strategic Work Plan
• Register for the 2025 RADBUG Today!

The AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Task Force is pleased to deliver version 7.6.1 of the AASHTOWare Bridge Design (BrD) and AASHTOWare Bridge Rating (BrR) products and the combined Design and Rating product (BrDR).

7.6 Maintenance Update 1 (version 7.6.1) addressed 36 BrDR Support Service Desk (BSSD) incidents.  See the release notes for more information.

Special Notes:

• 7.6.1 does not require a BrDR database migration and the installer provides the option to upgrade your 7.6.0 installation to 7.6.1.

The 7.6.1 release download package, with Bridge Design, Bridge Rating, or both, is provided in accordance with your AASHTO license agreement. Installation instructions are provided within the AASHTOWare Bridge Startup Guide in the download package.

Software distribution is processed based on the information the organization provides when the software is licensed. The 7.6.1 release download package will be distributed to the organization’s shipping designee and listed end user. Software distribution to all licensees will be completed within 5 working days from this announcement. A follow-up email will be sent upon completion and provide information on the learning resources available for the new capabilities and features.

Please direct any questions to AASHTOWare Bridge Design and Rating Technical Support at BrDR@promiles.com.

The Bridge Design and Rating Newsletter is available online!

Read about all of this in the March 2025 Newsletter.

• BrDR 7.6 Release Learning Resources
• BrDR 7.6 New Features and Enhancements Webinar
• BrDR 7.7 and 7.8 New Features and Enhancements in the Works
• BrDR TAG Chair and Vice Chair Appointment and the New Joint BrDR and BrM TAG 
• 2024 RADBUG Large Enhancement Survey Results
• Registration is Open! 2025 AASHTOWare Rating and Design User Group (RADBUG) Meeting
• 2025 AASHTOWare Connect