Institute for Transportation

About the research

A life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) tool for bridges was successfully developed as part of the Phase I project and takes into consideration the deterioration rates specific to Iowa bridge decks at two-year time intervals and aims to predict the agency and user costs associated with preserving, rehabilitating, and repairing the bridge decks. This offers a unique advantage over Iowa’s current system, which selects projects based on the lowest bid or estimated initial cost. In addition, the developed tool is extendable to cover various bridge elements, if needed. However, the initial tool did not take into consideration various sources of uncertainty or include an optional choice to consider indirect costs in the calculations. In addition, feedback from potential users of the tool will be necessary to further enhance the tool.

Phase II seeks to enhance the usability of the tool. Specifically, this tool will deliver firsthand information about how the timing, frequency, and procedure used for the maintenance of a set of similar bridges can lead to different service life extensions and future needs. This can be immediately employed to identify the most promising maintenance and management strategies for the bridges in service.