Corrosion of Highway Bridges: Economic Impact and Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
This paper describes how the corrosion of metallic structures has a significant impact on the US economy. In a recent study, the total direct cost of corrosion was determined to be $276 billion per year, of which the costs associated with the infrastructure represent 16.4%, a sizeable portion. The dollar impact of corrosion on highway bridges is considerable. The average annual direct cost of corrosion for highway bridges (including steel) was estimated to be $8.29 billion. This paper summarizes the costs of corrosion of reinforced-concrete bridges and discusses the control and prevention methodologies. The paper presents an example of a life-cycle cost analysis, which considers different construction/repair/rehabilitation options and maintenance scenarios. Based on the annual cash outflows, the analysis shows that indirect (user) costs can exceed the direct cost by a factor of 10 or more.
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Corporate Authors:
National Concrete Bridge Council
Portland Cement Association, 5420 Old Orchard Road
Skokie, IL United States 60077-1083 -
Authors:
- Yunovich, Mark
- Thompson, Neil G
- Virmani, Y Paul
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Conference:
- The 2004 Concrete Bridge Conference
- Location: Charlotte NC, United States
- Date: 2004-5-17 to 2004-5-18
- Publication Date: 2004
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: CD-ROM
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 25p
- Monograph Title: Building a New Generation of Bridges
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Corrosion; Corrosion protection; Corrosion resistance; Corrosion resistant steel; Epoxy coatings; Highway bridges; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle costing; Reinforced concrete; Reinforced concrete bridges; Reinforcing bars; Stainless steel
- Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Materials; I32: Concrete;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01036129
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Oct 27 2006 8:14AM