A Pragmatic, Risk-based Approach to Prioritizing Bridges

摘要

The objective of this paper is to present a 'straw-person' framework that appears to be a practical first step towards a more transparent, objective, quantitative and risk-based approach to bridge assessment and prioritization. While the framework presented is qualitative in nature it has distinct advantages over the current approach in that (a) it explicitly recognizes key performance limit states, (b) directly addresses bridge hazards, vulnerabilities, and exposures, (c) incorporates the uncertainty associated with various assessment techniques and provides flexibility for their implementation, and (d) provides a means to capture (in a useable format) expert knowledge and heuristics from top bridge engineers. In addition to the straw-person framework, the paper presents a rudimentary classification system to illustrate one approach to implementation. A series of case studies are then presented to demonstrate the potential value of this approach in distinguishing between bridges that are essentially "equivalent" based on the current assessment procedure. In addition, these case studies also serve to illustrate that the proposed approach may be utilized with existing inspection data. The paper concludes with some observations and comments regarding the straw-person framework presented.