Total cost-benefit analysis of alternative corrosion management strategies for a steel roadway bridge

Abstract This paper describes a methodology for evaluating alternative corrosion management strategies for a steel roadway bridge based on a total cost-benefit analysis. In this analysis, the impacts of girder type and preservation intervention selection on the bridge owner, users, and public are considered. The methodology is demonstrated for a steel girder bridge in Wallis, Switzerland. Painted carbon steel and unpainted weathering steel girders are investigated. The investigated preservation interventions are the following: protection by painting, protection by metalizing, and replacement. Deterioration of the girders by corrosion is modeled probabilistically. Following the methodology demonstration, sensitivity studies are performed, wherein the corrosion environment, traffic volume, and detour length during interventions are varied. The effects of these variations on the various benefit types are then discussed and the conditions under which the various corrosion management strategies may be optimal are identified.