A bridge scour risk management approach to deal with uncertain climate future

Riverine bridges are under a substantial threat of scour due to the magnitude and frequency of floods arising due to climate change. Infrequent inspections, inadequate data on foundation depths, and the lack of consideration of hydrologic and climate parameters often result in un-certainties within current scour risk assessments. This paper presents an approach for assessing the risk progression of local scour in peak flow conditions that consider uncertainties associated with location, downscaling of climate predictions, and hydrologic, hydraulic and scour prediction models. A rational scour risk rating based on warning time to failure is introduced that can provide a useful addition to the existing bridge condition indexes. The case study on a set of railway bridges in Southeast England shows that climate change could accelerate the scour risk progression, even in the low-emission scenario. The approach and results form a vital basis for scour risk mitigation and climate adaptation planning.

Automated summary

Riverine bridges are at risk of scour due to floods caused by climate change. Current scour risk assessments suffer from uncertainties due to infrequent inspections, inadequate data, and neglect of hydrologic and climate parameters. This paper presents an approach that considers uncertainties in location, downscaling of climate predictions, and prediction models to assess the risk progression of local scour. A rational scour risk rating based on warning time to failure is introduced, which can complement existing bridge condition indexes. A case study on railway bridges in Southeast England demonstrates that climate change can accelerate scour risk progression, even under a low-emission scenario. The approach and results provide a crucial basis for scour risk mitigation and climate adaptation planning.