A framework for assessing sustainability in the design of Michigan bridges and life cycle cost analysis

The bridge construction industry in US is increasingly becoming aware of sustainability and its importance in the future. The existing research and literature mainly focus on how sustainability can be integrated in bridges, but till now, there is no research specifically related to the development of a rating system for measuring the sustainability of green bridges. This thesis presents a rating system for green bridges. It is presented into two parts; the first part presents the framework in implementing sustainability in design, construction and maintenance for bridges and the Delphi approach, while the second part deals with guidelines for conducting the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) of bridges. The first part, the framework, is divided into three categories i.e. design, construction and maintenance. There are fourteen criteria in the design category, six criteria in the construction category and eight criteria in the maintenance category. The Delphi technique is used to assign weights for achieving different levels of sustainability in bridges. The second part, LCCA, summarizes a thorough research that establishes guidelines for conducting LCCA on bridges in Michigan and discusses the case studies on the application of LCCA in deciding low cost and best performance alternatives for bridge project. This thesis provides guidelines for bridge construction industry professionals in gauging sustainability and carrying out advance studies on various topics related to the LCCA of green bridges.