Decision-making for Large-scale Bridge Maintenance

Abstract

Delayed maintenance is a major issue in Europe, including the Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam recently started a large-scale maintenance project to renew (renovate or replace) many bridges: an issue that other cities will have to face soon. Decision-making for bridge programming (deciding which bridges should be renewed simultaneously using what strategy) is a contemporary issue. The current decision-making in Amsterdam is not structured; as a result, not all options have been considered, and only a few factors are taken into account. Consequently, this programming has resulted in massive costs and project delays. From the literature review, it can be concluded that no DSS exists that considers all criteria, is suitable for simultaneously planning multiple bridges, and is user-friendly for municipalities. Since it is essential to make an informed decision, there is a need to develop a method to look at decision-making in an integral and systematic sense. Therefore a DSS is designed in this study to support this bridge programming. The DSS will systematically show which main effects play a role, the options a municipality can choose, and their advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, it will reveal the trade-offs a municipality will have to weigh when making its choice. The DSS was designed using a case study, namely a part of Amsterdam. In the end, the expert evaluation showed that the DSS is plausible and leads to meaningful insights into decision-making.