BRIDGES ARE EXPENSIVE--BRIDGE FAILURES ARE MORE EXPENSIVE

The failure of the New York State Thruway Bridge over Schoharie Creek demonstrated once again that bridge failures are more expensive than just the bridge itself, and that it would be prudent to assess the vulnerability to floods of all existing bridges over alluvial rivers. All such bridges are vulnerable to some degree unless they have been built by design or by engineering judgment for the maximum flood to be expected and the worst geometry and flow conditions that may come into being during the life of the bridge--and with proper evaluation of all factors. The remedial measures needed to make an existing vulnerable bridge virtually invulnerable will probably cost more than comparable measures would have cost at the time it was built; but, nevertheless, the cost can probably be justified when life and limb and a year or two of traffic delay are considered. That nothing has ever happened to a bridge that is 25 or 50 years old may be just a matter of luck, and it is not a sufficient reason to not assess the vulnerability of the bridge. Luck can run out, and the failure of an old bridge can still be very costly.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1988/1201/1201-006.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=BRIDGES+ARE+EXPENSIVE--BRIDGE+FAILURES+ARE+MORE+EXPENSIVE&author=E.+Laursen&publication_year=1988
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309047625
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1201, Arid Lands: Hydrology, Scour, and Water Quality. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Laursen, Emmett M
• Publication Date: 1988

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 43-45
• Monograph Title: Arid lands: hydrology, scour and water quality
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1201
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridges; Costs; Design flood; Failure; Prevention; Risk assessment
• Uncontrolled Terms: Vulnerability
• Old TRIS Terms: Remedial measures
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Finance; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I26: Water Run-off - Freeze-thaw;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00489704
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309047625
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Nov 30 1989 12:00AM