Geotechnical asset management for Italian transport agencies: Implementation principles and concepts

摘要

Internationally, Transportation Asset Management (TAM) has been accepted practice for many years. National, regional or state statutes and policies encourage transportation agencies to adopt asset management principles, including performance- and risk-based management. Transport agencies also develop their own short- and long-term plans, objectives and goals to guide agency programs. Italy recently reorganized the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT) and developed ten key concepts to guide the Ministry. While all these concepts have application to TAM, several stand out, including utility, simplification, involvement, maintenance and safety. Development of TAM for transport systems can be a guiding force in improving development and management of transport systems. Consideration of geotechnical assets is important in TAM development for Italy to meet national, regional and agency goals. Italy has a highly-developed multi-modal system of surface transportation and thousands of km of tunnels also due to the complex topography. The system ranges from roadways to airports to rail transport and ferry and ship transport infrastructure, all of which depend on support from geotechnical assets, whether embankments below pavement, earth retaining walls, rock slopes, etc. These type of assets are often overlooked, but the value of geotechnical assets is likely to be a substantial percentage of the total value of the system. The high geological and geomorphological activity of the Italian peninsula is a relevant factor of stress for the national transportation network and, especially, for geotechnical assets. Furthermore, many of these assets are in declining condition, because, like every transport agency in developed countries, there are not sufficient funds to do everything that is needed. Maintaining and improving the condition of geotechnical assets can be a key step for the achievement of the MIT goals. Geotechnical Asset Management (GAM) can contribute to improvement to the condition, utility, safety and life cycle cost of a transportation network. GAM will assist transport agencies to understand the current and future condition of geotechnical assets, and through integrated life cycle cost and risk analysis, the alternative actions available to rehabilitate, preserve and eventually replace assets. Geotechnical asset management offers guidance in supporting decision-making to preserve and improve the transport system.