Bridge lifetime expense study using asset valuation and conjoint analysis techniques to assist in decision making for long-term transportation asset management plans

The objective of this thesis is to develop an asset valuation approach that will assist Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) engineers in making decisions on bridge maintenance. The approach will utilize resources acquired from the element-based bridge inspection database from GDOT and recorded maintenance from the National Bridge Inventory (NBI), while improving upon current techniques such as the bridge health index. The asset valuation technique will then be used as a tool in determining bridge preservation activities such as maintenance, repair, or replacement. Asset valuation will be achieved through the use of weighting factors developed from a conjoint analysis, application of maintenance data through a cash flow analysis, and an element unit cost database. The cash flow analysis and collection of element unit costs used GDOT maintenance and NBI data to log the changing costs of bridge elements and maintenance budgets. The conjoint analysis was designed to determine factors that most affect the bridges health. The research also uses data from inspections to create a full picture of Georgias infrastructure. Results from the study show trends in element costs over the years, use maintenance expenses over a bridges lifetime to determine future rehabilitation actions, and correct health index values to better represent bridge health.