Abstract
Long-span bridges are the pinnacle of human achievement in structural form, linking communities over vast obstacles. It is understood that bridge stocks are ageing, but there is little global oversight. This article presents a publicly accessible global long-span bridge database of 751 long-span bridges, and provides a data analysis to enable the identification of common problems, future needs, and the relationship between the age, design life, and condition status. The database is available online at http://bridges.eng.monash.edu and further submissions can be added. Some key points from the analysis are: (1) the US, China and Norway comprise more than half of the world’s long-span bridges; (2) almost a quarter of the US long-span bridges are beyond the AASHTO 75-year design life; (3) target design lives are not being achieved with only 12% of bridges completing 75 years before major structural rehabilitation; (4) structural health monitoring is mainly implemented for new bridges, in spite of the clear need for older bridges. The global long-span bridge database should contribute to researchers being able to target key problems in the management of these bridges, thereby contributing to the extension of their operational lives.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 219-231 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Structure and Infrastructure Engineering |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2 Jan 2020 |
Keywords
- bridge management
- database
- deterioration
- Long-span bridges
- maintenance
- structural health monitoring
Cite this
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Long-span bridges : analysis of trends using a global database. / Caprani, Colin C.; De Maria, James.
In: Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, Vol. 16, No. 1, 02.01.2020, p. 219-231.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-span bridges
T2 - analysis of trends using a global database
AU - Caprani, Colin C.
AU - De Maria, James
PY - 2020/1/2
Y1 - 2020/1/2
N2 - Long-span bridges are the pinnacle of human achievement in structural form, linking communities over vast obstacles. It is understood that bridge stocks are ageing, but there is little global oversight. This article presents a publicly accessible global long-span bridge database of 751 long-span bridges, and provides a data analysis to enable the identification of common problems, future needs, and the relationship between the age, design life, and condition status. The database is available online at http://bridges.eng.monash.edu and further submissions can be added. Some key points from the analysis are: (1) the US, China and Norway comprise more than half of the world’s long-span bridges; (2) almost a quarter of the US long-span bridges are beyond the AASHTO 75-year design life; (3) target design lives are not being achieved with only 12% of bridges completing 75 years before major structural rehabilitation; (4) structural health monitoring is mainly implemented for new bridges, in spite of the clear need for older bridges. The global long-span bridge database should contribute to researchers being able to target key problems in the management of these bridges, thereby contributing to the extension of their operational lives.
AB - Long-span bridges are the pinnacle of human achievement in structural form, linking communities over vast obstacles. It is understood that bridge stocks are ageing, but there is little global oversight. This article presents a publicly accessible global long-span bridge database of 751 long-span bridges, and provides a data analysis to enable the identification of common problems, future needs, and the relationship between the age, design life, and condition status. The database is available online at http://bridges.eng.monash.edu and further submissions can be added. Some key points from the analysis are: (1) the US, China and Norway comprise more than half of the world’s long-span bridges; (2) almost a quarter of the US long-span bridges are beyond the AASHTO 75-year design life; (3) target design lives are not being achieved with only 12% of bridges completing 75 years before major structural rehabilitation; (4) structural health monitoring is mainly implemented for new bridges, in spite of the clear need for older bridges. The global long-span bridge database should contribute to researchers being able to target key problems in the management of these bridges, thereby contributing to the extension of their operational lives.
KW - bridge management
KW - database
KW - deterioration
KW - Long-span bridges
KW - maintenance
KW - structural health monitoring
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85073581414&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15732479.2019.1639773
DO - 10.1080/15732479.2019.1639773
M3 - Article
VL - 16
SP - 219
EP - 231
JO - Structure and Infrastructure Engineering
JF - Structure and Infrastructure Engineering
SN - 1573-2479
IS - 1
ER -