Integrated pavement-bridge management under uncertainty

This paper presents the results of the early stages of an ongoing effort to develop an integrated decision-making tool for network-lever management of infrastructures, with most emphasis on highway pavement and bridges. Problem of isolated decision making by various agencies, regarding each of the two types of infrastructure, as identified by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, is addressed by the proposed joint-decision model, utilizing the Geographical Information System (GIS) as the environment of integration.. The effectiveness of GIS features such as dynamic segmentation, is presented in terms of its benefits and limitations, with regard to integration and manipulation of the data on multiple infrastructures. The framework of the proposed integrated model is presented to show the feasibility of applying the mathematical models of stochastic process, fuzzy sets theory, and other innovative techniques such as neural networks, in both an integrated form, and also for uncertainty analyses. The suitability of using NDE tests for condition data collection and decision-making on such an integrated model, and the associated uncertainties, is also presented.