Physics

Internal medicine

Business

Archaeology

Structural engineering

Forensic engineering

History

Bridge (graph theory)

Risk analysis (engineering)

Civil engineering

Engineering

Power (physics)

Reuse

Bridge maintenance

Transport engineering

Foundation (evidence)

Deck

Quantum mechanics

Reliability (semiconductor)

Waste management

Medicine

Journal of Infrastructure Systems

The average age of highway bridges in the US as of 2019 is 45 years, with almost 43% of existing highway bridges being older than 50 years and 8% of them being in poor conditions. For bridges in need of replacement, the reuse of the existing foundations can be an attractive option from economic, environmental, and mobility perspectives. However, successful planning for foundation reuse requires a detailed understanding of the risks over the service life of the bridge. This paper presents a framework to calculate the time-dependent risk of reusing an existing foundation. The methodology is further demonstrated by a case study of a bridge supported by driven steel H-piles in Bucks County, PA. The proposed framework is used to estimate the marginal cost of different reconstruction options using a time-dependent probability of failure, reliability index, and risk profile of the bridge. Results show that an alternative based on corrosion mitigation in combination with foundation strengthening has the lowest marginal risk cost and can be the most attractive option during the reconstruction of the bridge.

Risks in Reuse of Highway Bridge Foundations