Vehicle Traffic Loads and Bridge Network Renewal Requirements

摘要

This paper summarises a study funded by the US National Highway Cooperative Research Program (NCHRP) to develop a methodology for estimating the impact costs of a highway bridge network due to increase in the truck weight limits. The network can be for a county, state, or country. Four categories of impact cost are prioritised and included in the methodology: shortened life of existing bridges' steel and reinforced concrete components, inadequate strength in existing bridges, and higher design load for new bridges. The application examples show that the two latter categories contribute to the total cost more dominantly. A computer software program, Carris, has been developed carrying this new methodology for convenient application.