Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari today launched the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS) in New Delhi. IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in the country and rate their structural condition so that timely repair and rehabilitation work can be carried out based on the criticality of the structure.<br/><br/>Mr Gadkari said lack of any data base on bridges has led to a situation where there is no any clarity about the exact number, location and condition of bridge. He said poor condition of bridges hampers efficient transport and also leds to accidents and loss of lives on several occasions. The Minister said IBMS aims to fill this gap by preparing a data base of all bridges in the country.<br/><br/>AIR correspondent reports that IBMS is the largest platform in the world owned by a single owner, with database that could exceed one lakh fifty thousand bridge structures.