AASHTO HB-17, Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, 17th Edition (2002), presents the structural design specifications used by state bridge engineers and practicing engineers. Section 1 sets out general provisions covering design analysis and general structural integrity for bridges. The provisions call for designs and details that address structural integrity through continuity and redundancy to provide alternate load paths, members and bearing seat widths resistant to damage or instability, and external protection systems that minimize the effects of reasonably conceived severe loads. General provisions also cover bridge locations, which are governed by the route of the highway carried and selected to suit the particular obstacle being crossed. When the specifications provide for empirical formulae, alternate rational analyses based on theories or tests and accepted by the authority having jurisdiction are considered compliance. State bridge engineers, engineering colleges and universities, and practicing engineers worldwide use these specifications for highway bridge design.