The development of a statewide network level bridge management system
Abstract
In recent years there has been a growing concern about the safety of existing bridges. This concern is shared by highway agencies at all levels of government, federal, state and local. The major elements of the bridge problem involve aging and obsolescence. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) rated about 45 percent of the existing bridges in the nation as either functionally or structurally deficient. The State of Indiana has similar bridge problems with 34 percent of its bridges functionally obsolete and 9 percent structurally deficient as of March, 1988. This study was undertaken to develop a network level bridge management system for the Indiana Department of Highways to manage state-owned bridges. The objectives of the study included an effective use of available data, development of criteria to determine present and future needs, analysis of costs and impacts of bridge related activities, and development of methods to set priority for bridge maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement alternatives. A bridge management system, which would consist of eight modules, was developed and recommended for implementation. The eight modules are: (1) database, (2) condition rating assistance, (3) bridge traffic safety evaluation, (4) improvement activity identification, (5) impact identification, (6) project selection, (7) activity recording and monitoring, and (8) reporting modules. The project selection module would serve as the core of this system, with three sub-modules: life cycle costing, ranking, and optimization.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Sinha, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Civil engineering
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