AASHTOWare BrM and BrDR User Groups Come Together in Columbus
September 24, 2026The AASHTOWare bridge software community came together August 18–20 in Columbus, Ohio, for a first-of-its-kind combined meeting of the AASHTOWare Bridge Management User Group (BrMUG) and the AASHTOWare Rating and Design Bridge User Group (RADBUG).
Held at the Hyatt Regency Columbus, the Joint AASHTOWare RADBUG & BrMUG Annual Meeting brought bridge management, bridge rating, and bridge design professionals from both agencies and consultants together for a meeting that was designed to strengthen collaboration and create a more unified approach to addressing the challenges facing today’s bridge agencies and the consultants who serve them.
Connecting Bridge Management, Rating, and Design
The three-day agenda offered agency and consultant attendees a mix of general sessions, technical presentations, training, breakout discussions, software enhancement voting, and networking opportunities.
The meeting opened with remarks from AASHTO and the Ohio Department of Transportation, followed by an AASHTOWare strategic plan update and the introduction of the combined BrM/BrDR User Group charter. Attendees then received an overview of the BrM, BrDR, and BrD products.
One of the general-session highlights focused on opportunities beyond the BrDR interface, including APIs, automation, and scalable load-rating workflows.
Learning From Each Other
A major benefit of the combined meeting was the opportunity for attendees to learn from colleagues working in different areas of bridge management, bridge design, and bridge rating.
Breakout sessions covered a wide range of topics, including BrM and BrDR updates, mobile inspections, agency configurations, customization, template databases, dashboards, inspection fundamentals, and updates to the culvert analysis.
The agenda also included technical and advanced topics such as OpenAPI use cases, automated BrR workflows, railway bridge load rating, legal load evaluation, rigorous live-load distribution factors, and reinforced concrete pier cap LRFR analysis.
The return of the ‘Ask the Experts’ session provided users of the BrM, BrDR, and PermitRoute software with an opportunity to interact with the software developers to ask questions in an informal setting.
Shaping the Future of AASHTOWare
The meeting also provided numerous opportunities for users to have a direct voice in the future of AASHTOWare products. Attendees participated in enhancement voting for Bridge Management, Bridge Rating, and Bridge Design, while panel discussions with the BrM Task Force and ProMiles provided opportunities to discuss product direction and priorities.
Building a Stronger Community
Beyond the technical sessions, the combined meeting provided valuable opportunities for networking and relationship building. Bringing the BrMUG and RADBUG communities together allowed professionals to connect across disciplines, exchange best practices, and gain a broader perspective on the bridge lifecycle.
The 2026 Joint AASHTOWare RADBUG & BrMUG Annual Meeting demonstrated the value of that collaboration—and provided a solid foundation for continued communication, innovation, and improvement across the AASHTOWare User Community.