Intersections/Intersecţii, ISSN 1582-3024 120 Pages 119 - 127, Vol. 13 (New Series), 2016, No. 2 ISSN 1582-3024 http://www.intersections.ro Influence of the Environment and Behavior of Bridge – River Channel System Rodian Scînteie, Constantin Ionescu “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iaşi, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Building Services Summary The article highlights the importance of studying over time the bridge – river channel interaction zone, the place where a series of events and phenomena occur resulting in serious condition or collapse of bridges. The introductive part, presents a number of damaged bridges, where the main cause was the scouring of the foundations combined with decrease of the riverbed level due to several causes, including illegal or incorrect exploitation of ballast excavations. The second part analyzes the computer based informational system (informatics system). Simultaneously, the importance of databases use is detailed, especially for the study of the phenomena connected to bridge – river channel interaction zone. The final part of the article present the databases required to an efficient informatics system, specific to bridge – river channel interaction mainly the database with information concerning the behavior in time of bridge in interaction zone. KEYWORDS: bridge, informatics system, database, river channel, riverbed, bottom sill, bank protection 1. INTRODUCTION Technical situations that occurred at several highway bridges in the last years highlighted a large range of damage types which were studied over time by specialists in books, congresses and seminars of roads and bridges and in articles in journals. Among the most important degradations witnessed, one might mention, particularly:  decrease of the lowest water level in bridge zone with consequences in exposing the elevation-foundation joint or the upper part of the foundation system.  erosion of the streambed with change in thalweg elevation, phenomenon associated with decrease of lowest water level;  degradation of banks;