Development of a web-based database system for management ofexisting bridges in the Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan

摘要

Bridge management based on recent theoretical developments has become increasingly important for the central and local governments of Japan due to various factors such as the increasing volume of traffic, increasing weight of road vehicles, and structural aging. The budget limitations of local governments with respect to bridge maintenance actions and new construction are more severe than those of the central government. Therefore, local governments face the necessity of developing their own bridge management systems, taking into account their specific constraints. The authors contributed to the development of a comprehensive bridge management system with co-workers at Yamaguchi University and the Yamaguchi prefectural government. The system consists of three main subsystems: performance evaluation system, maintenance planning system, and bridge management database system. Using the experience gained at the University of Colorado, this paper presents a web-based database system for management of existing bridges in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Several screen shots of the system are presented in order to demonstrate how this system performs.