A Proposed Framework for the Integrated Management of Municipal Infrastructure

Urban agencies are usually organized in divisions or departments that manage different infrastructure systems (i.e., pavements, utilities, etc.). Because of the high density of urban areas, these infrastructure systems are located close to each other and the intervention in one of these systems often impacts others. These interactions are often neglected because each of the divisions work with independent management systems. This paper presents a framework for the integrated management of municipal infrastructure. The proposed framework accounts for the savings derived from the integration of maintenance activities in co-located infrastructure. It comprises three modules: (1) an input module containing inventory data of the infrastructure systems; (2) a data processing module that analyzes infrastructure condition, maintenance needs, and costs, and identifies potential areas for integration; and (3) an evolutionary solving module that optimizes the maintenance program by accounting for the savings derived from integrated interventions. An urban network including pavement and sewer systems is analyzed as a proof of concept to estimate the order of magnitude of the savings that could be derived from an integrated management. In this case study, the integrated management of municipal infrastructure allows to reduce maintenance costs by 9%, when compared to a rehabilitation plan not including the savings derived from an integrated maintenance.