Life Cycle Cost of Bridges: Part 1: Whole Life Cycle Cost for Chicago-Type Bascule Bridges; Part 2: Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Bridges and Tunnels

(Part 1) The whole life cost of a bridge consists of the total investment throughout the life of the bridge. This investment includes the initial construction cost, repair and rehabilitation costs, and all maintenance costs. An ability to determine the whole life cost of a bridge will help agencies evaluate the asset value of existing bridges, make better decisions on the design and construction of new bridges, and choose methods and approaches for rehabilitating existing structures such that the lowest life cycle cost is achieved rather than the lowest initial cost. Toward this end the whole life costs of Chicago trunnion bascule bridges are analyzed and found to be less than five times the initial costs for life spans exceeding 100 years. It was also shown that timely maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation can lower the life cycle cost of a bridge. (Part 2) This paper presents an analysis of life cycle costs for four bridges and two tunnels constructed and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Cost components include the initial cost, repair and rehabilitation costs, and annual maintenance costs. Results show that the maintenance and rehabilitation costs, as a percentage of the initial cost, are reasonably similar for both bridges and tunnels for perhaps the first 65 years of their service life, after which these costs increase significantly for bridges. However, based on cost per square foot and cost per traffic lane, the opposite is clearly true. Only time and detailed cost records for ensuing years will reveal how the two types of structure compare over their entire service lives.

• Record URL:
  http://iti.northwestern.edu/publications/utc/tea-21/FR-4-6-Krizek.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This research was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Infrastructure Technology Institute (ITI)

  Northwestern University
  L260 Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road
  Evanston, IL  United States  60208-3109

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Zhang, Yingchun
  • Novick, David A
  • Hadavi, Ahmad
  • Krizek, Raymond J
• Publication Date: 2009

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bascule bridges; Bridges; Life cycle costing; Tunnels
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Economics; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls; I25: Design of Tunnels;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01133731
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Projects A468, A472 and A491
• Files: UTC, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 14 2009 2:23PM