Managing bridge infrastructure under budget constraints: A decision support methodology

Managing the deteriorating bridge infrastructure has become a major social and economic concern in North America. The methodology developed in the present research consists of three methods: (1) ranking and prioritizing method to evaluate and rank all bridge projects in a network, (2) ranking method to evaluate the available rehabilitation strategies for each project, and (3) recommended work program development method. The recommended work program specifies a list of projects to allocate the available budget to and what type of action to be implemented for each project. The developed methodology allows engineers to use multiple and conflicting criteria and to incorporate their experience and judgment in the decision making process. The methodology can assist bridge engineers and decision makers in selecting the most suitable work program that can be performed with a limited budget. An example application is presented to demonstrate the use and capabilities of the developed methodology.