A reliability-based bridge management concept

Abstract Since 2004, the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy, has adopted a Bridge Management System entirely based on reliability concepts. The system operates on the web, and includes sections for (1) condition state evaluation, (2) safety assessment, and (3) prioritization. Condition appraisal is based on visual inspections, and acknowledges the general rules of the AASHTO Commonly Recognized Standard Element system. Normally, the system conservatively estimates the prior reliability of each bridge, based on the sole inspection data. Where the condition of the bridge gives cause for concern, its reliability is evaluated in a more formal manner using multi-step procedures of increasing refinement. Decision-making is driven by a principle whereby priority is given to those actions that, within a certain budget, will minimize the risk of occurrence of an unacceptable event in the whole network. In this paper, the operation of the system is illustrated, with the support of a number of practical cases. Keywords: Bridge managementCondition stateReliabilityPrioritizationCost Acknowledgements This research was made possible thanks to the financial support of the Autonomous Province of Trento (contracts #277/02 and #342/03). The authors wish to thank the APT Department of Transportation, and specifically Raffaele De Col, Luciano Martorano, Paolo Nicolussi and Matteo Pravda, for their continuing support in the development and operation of the system. The authors also wish to thank all the people who have cooperated in the research, including David Capraro, Giovanni Cortese, Alessandro Lanaro, Federico Menapace, Devis Sonda and Paolo Zanon.