ABSTRACT
Bridges are typically designed for 80-100 years. However, within this long period the performance requirements can change due to socio-economic and socio-technical developments. This can mean the bridge becomes functionally obsolete, since, for example, its dimensions do not allow certain vehicles to pass or it cannot offer the required traffic capacity. The residual life of a bridge is often a matter of whether the bridge and its components can still cope with changing performance requirements, whether there are technical solutions available to maintain the bridge, and whether it is economically attractive to keep the bridge in place. We propose an integrative approach for determining the residual life of bridges by bringing together the functional, technical and economic perspective on bridge performance.
