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Title:

LIFE-CYCLE COST APPROACH TO BRIDGE MANAGEMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
Cover of LIFE-CYCLE COST APPROACH TO BRIDGE MANAGEMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS

Accession Number:

00941381

Record Type:

Component

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Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00978515

Abstract:

The Dutch Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management is responsible for management of the national road infrastructure in the Netherlands. Structures such as bridges and tunnels are important structures in the road network and largely determine the functionality of the road network as well as necessary maintenance budgets. A methodology for a probabilistic life-cycle cost approach to bridge management was applied to the concrete highway bridges in the Netherlands. The Dutch national road network contains over 3,000 highway bridges, most of which are 30 years old or more. The annual maintenance cost of these bridges is a substantial part of the total maintenance cost. The question arises of when to carry out bridge replacements. A fundamental solution is to take a life-cycle cost approach with costs of maintenance and replacement and service lifetime as key elements. Maintenance strategies were drawn up for groups of similar elements, such as concrete elements, preserved steel, extension joints, and bearings. The structures were categorized into generic types, each with its own maintenance characteristics. For each structure, the maintenance cost was estimated on the basis of the life-cycle cost analyses of the underlying elements. After aggregation over the entire stock, this process eventually led to the maintenance cost on a network level. To calculate the life-cycle cost, lifetime distributions for concrete bridges were determined, and the expected cost of replacing the bridge stock was computed. The uncertainty in the lifetime of a bridge can best be represented with a Weibull distribution, which can be fit on the basis of aggregating the lifetimes of demolished bridges (complete observations) and the ages of current bridges (right-censored observations). Using renewal theory, the future expected cost of replacing the bridge stock can then be determined while taking into account current bridge ages and the corresponding uncertainties in future replacement times. The proposed methodology has been used to estimate the cost of replacing the Dutch stock of concrete bridges as a function of time.

Supplemental Notes:

Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Report/Paper Numbers:

E-C049,
IBMC03-036
IBMC03-041

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Klatter, H E
Van Noortwijk, J M

Pagination:

p. 179-188

Publication Date:

2003-4

Serial:

Transportation Research Circular

Issue Number: E-C049
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0097-8515

Conference:

9th International Bridge Management Conference

Location: Orlando, Florida
Date: 2003-4-28 to 2003-4-30
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board, Federal Highway Administration

Features:

Figures (8) ; References (3) ; Tables (2)

Geographic Terms:

Subject Areas:

Bridges and other structures; Design; Finance; Highways; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Apr 18 2003 12:00AM

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