Including User Cost and Risk Analysis During Construction in Highway Bridge Structure Selection

Selection of bridge type is traditionally based on the finished structure. This study presents a more comprehensive analysis that includes user costs and accidents during the construction phase. The objective is to incorporate more fully the total costs to society of constructing a facility. These can then be combined with the project cost and the benefit to society of the completed structure. This approach can lead to a total cost optimization for more effective and efficient bridge project designs for the public. From a total of 163 Colorado bridges constructed during the period 2000–2007, bridge, roadway, traffic, and region data were used to select 43 candidate bridges targeted for study. Unfortunately, complete data were not obtainable for a number of these bridges, and for others the engineers involved in the project were no longer working at Colorado Department of Transportation so they were not available to complete questionnaire information for this research. Complete data were available on 20 bridges, and these were selected for the study. Information for these study bridges included not only the direct construction and traffic management information, but also the detour, delay, and accident data. Delay and bridge costs are compared for each structure, and also for trends by region, average daily traffic (ADT) volume construction duration, and bridge type. Accident rates are compared during construction with those before and after. Statistical factor analysis is used to isolate key factors among the bridges studied. Delay costs exceeded bridge construction cost for approximately one half of the bridges studied, and construction period accident rates for injury accidents saw an almost 20% increase. Delay costs are significant as a ratio to bridge costs when ADT exceeds 10,000, construction when duration exceeds 20 months, and for concrete box girder prestressed bridges that are built with current Colorado construction practices.

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