The role of maintenance plans on serviceability and life extension of existing bridges

A selection of bridges has been investigated to suggest the key features to be assessed during their aging. The main idea is to highlight the relevance of the maintenance plans in the through-life management of the structure. Accurate rules might provide a basis for enhancing the structure performance and evaluating whether the risk associated with its use is limited to acceptable thresholds. The paper analyses also the classification procedures in use, highlighting the main issues that could facilitate a more aware evaluation of the synthetic indicators for these structures. Furthermore, it aims at describing the main deficiencies recurrently encountered during the surveys on the selected bridges. The main goal is to provide bridge owners and managers with more streamlined methods and tools that can be used in the existing bridge ranking procedures to meet the latest national requirements for maintenance management.

Automated summary

The paper investigates a selection of bridges to identify key features for their assessment during aging and emphasizes the importance of maintenance plans in managing the structure throughout its lifespan. Accurate rules can enhance structure performance and evaluate risk within acceptable thresholds. It also analyzes existing classification procedures and addresses common deficiencies in surveys of bridges. The ultimate goal is to provide bridge owners and managers with streamlined methods and tools to meet the latest national requirements for maintenance management.