Evaluation Model for Equitable Prioritization of Bridge Investments

After two decades of consistent improvements in bridge condition, inflation combined with an aging bridge inventory has exceeded available resources. As bridges deteriorate, owners must take action to maintain public safety by repairing structures, reducing allowable loads, or closing bridges. Restricting bridge traffic can greatly disrupt the economic viability of a community. Closed bridges can increase travel distance to jobs, schools, grocery stores, medical facilities, and other essential destinations, increase emergency response times, and pose challenges for non-motorized access across transportation barriers. Additionally, restricting traffic and bridge closures can lead to greater distances traveled, congestion, and increased emissions. Because bridges are relatively long-lived structures, but the number of projects that can be performed each year is constrained by available funding, evaluation models for project selection need to balance the immediate needs of the overall bridge inventory with the potential future needs of bridges that have a higher socio-economic impact. Current Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) bridge maintenance practices utilize a mix-of-fixes strategy to prioritize addressing bridges with critical needs, reduce risks such as unmitigated scour critical bridges, and achieve the greatest state of good repair for the trunkline network over a 10-year timeframe as defined in the Transportation Asset Management Plan. As the potential for permanent closures increases with the projected severe decline in bridge condition, there is a need to extend this analysis of bridges to a 30-year timeframe and to incorporate equity, risk, social, and economic factors.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Sponsor Organizations:

  Michigan Department of Transportation

  Van Wagoner Building
  425 W. Ottawa Street
  Lansing, MI  United States  48909
• Performing Organizations:

  Michigan State University, East Lansing

  Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
  Institute for Community Development
  East Lansing, MI  United States  48824-1226
• Principal Investigators:

  Zockaie, Ali

• Start Date: 20250205
• Expected Completion Date: 20261231
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asset management; Bridges; Equity; Maintenance management
• Identifier Terms: Michigan Department of Transportation
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01957453
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Michigan Department of Transportation
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 6 2025 2:26PM