Graduation Semester and Year

2021

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering

Department

Civil Engineering

First Advisor

Nur Yazdani

Second Advisor

Shahadat Hossain

Third Advisor

Sharareh Kermanshachi

Fourth Advisor

Jay Rosenberger

Abstract

Bridges are typically damaged/deteriorated due to various factors that require close evaluation to make informed decisions about repair/replacement. There are several aspects of study to evaluate bridges for repair/replacement, such as age, structural adequacy, and frequent usage. Further, bridges which are in poor condition must be identified to mitigate their damage/deterioration and as a result, maintain a safe environment for users. Therefore, to assess the need for funding, state Departments of Transportation are required to evaluate bridges by considering several factors, while prioritizing safety. In Texas, the Highway Bridge Program is responsible for funding bridges which are listed for repair/replacement. This is typically decided through their sufficiency rating system. However, the existing sufficiency rating method utilizes a complex formula which lacks some key details. This method can be improved by incorporating additional factors that could potentially result in a better and more efficient methodology. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to develop a decision tool for bridge repair/replacement, that incorporates factors such as condition, cost, risk, ease of repair/replacement, age, importance, public use, and geometry. Some factors contain sub-elements which were evaluated and weighted according to importance. To pursue this, methods such as regression analysis, decision matrices and the analytic hierarchy process were used. The decision tool will be executed on an interactive Excel-based platform. Excel Visual Basic macro functions will be used to create a user-friendly platform. The proposed tool shall be useful in making objective and data-driven decisions for local bridge maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement.

Keywords

Decision tool, National Bridge Inventory (NBI), Bridge rehabilitation, Bridge replacement, Sufficiency rating, Highway bridge program, Element-level inspection

Disciplines

Civil and Environmental Engineering | Civil Engineering | Engineering

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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