Reinforced concrete (RC) bridges deteriorate with time. This results i
n reduction of their resistance, and, consequently, of their reliabili
ty. Corrosion of embedded reinforcing steel is one of the main causes
of deterioration. The paper presents a method for reliability assessme
nt of RC slab bridges with corroded reinforcement. The method includes
a traffic load model, a corrosion model, and a nonlinear finite eleme
nt structural model. Two types of corrosion-general corrosion, includi
ng spalling and debond between concrete and the corroded reinforcement
, and localized corrosion - are considered. Reliability is estimated i
n terms of the reliability index using the first-order reliability met
hod, Uncertainties associated with material properties, geometry, load
s, and corrosion parameters are taken into account. A sensitivity anal
ysis of a simple span bridge is carried out to examine the influence o
f these uncertainties on the bridge reliability. Reliability assessmen
t of a deteriorated three-span continuous bridge illustrates the appli
cation of the method.