Contemporary Network Theory: Concepts and Implications for Transportation Infrastructure Management

Efficient and well-maintained infrastructure (roads, bridges, water, pipelines, etc.) systems are essential for societal stability, economic growth, sustainable competitiveness, and resilient response to natural and man-made disasters. This paper proposes a novel working paradigm for the infrastructure asset management by viewing it as a key component of a broader network of resources, which includes infrastructure linked with society’s ecological, social, and economic systems. The model attempts to use the knowledge gained from studying different types of networks and their synergies and interdependencies to enhance the asset management process. The proposed paradigm requires (1) to understand the topology of the transportation infrastructure network, and (2) to find new procedures to improve the efficiency of the decisions and methods used for managing these networks. Recent work in the area of transportation infrastructure suggests that more research is needed to determine the topology of the transportation infrastructure network in order to more accurately identify its vulnerability. Concepts such as robustness, modularity, hierarchy and imitation seem promising as mechanisms to identify procedures to make transportation networks more efficient, robust, and reliable especially when dealing with internal errors and possible attacks. The investigation conducted suggest that understating a transportation network’s topology may help enhance the beneficial attributes and minimize the detrimental qualities of the identified topology in terms of economic, social and political costs. The incorporation of contemporary network theory, its basic concepts, and their implications for transportation infrastructure management may help enhance the management, preservation, protection, and expansion of the transportation infrastructure systems.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Fonseca, Andrea
  • Flintsch, Gerardo W
  • Garvin, Michael J
  • Sotelino, Elisa D
  • Barkhi, Reza
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 86th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2007-1-21 to 2007-1-25
• Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 12p
• Monograph Title: TRB 86th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asset management; Bridges; Economic growth; Infrastructure; Pipeline facilities; Roads; Sustainable development; Water traffic; Water transportation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Natural disasters; Transportation infrastructure; Transportation networks
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Bridges and other structures; Economics; Highways; Marine Transportation; Pipelines; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Terminals and Facilities; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01045972
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 07-3224
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 10 2007 9:22AM