Performance indicators for bridges exposed to a flooding hazard

Abstract

The data on performance indicators from relevant national bridge inspection documents have been collected in a survey within the COST TU1406 action. Among this data, there are essential information on roadway bridge management practice in Europe related to a flooding hazard, that waits to be identified. This is one of the main tasks of the work group 3 which goal is to facilitate establishment of quality control plans for girder, frame and arch bridges. The review of the collected data has been performed to reveal the performance indicators for the cases of flooding and related scour at bridge substructures. The essential information was extracted and complemented with the relevant information necessary to establish relationships between performance indicators and performance goals. Here, the vulnerability assessment is suggested as a convenient approach as it accounts both for the probability of a bridge failure and related consequences. In the approach, the emphasis is to account the resistance of a bridge to scour, which is not thoroughly considered in the current practice. This is one of the main aspects that should be elaborated and included in the structure of the future QC plans for bridges exposed to flooding hazards.