Bridges

This paper discusses an agent-based framework for improved bridge asset management. The framework comprises a geospatial representation of a network, a bridge performance deterioration model, and behavioural models of key stakeholders.Effective management of road bridges is a balance between the construction of new assets and the preservation of old and often underperforming assets. This balancing act is set to become more difficult, as budgets become more constrained and as an increasing number of post-war bridges start to reach the end of their economic lives. To assist the bridge asset management process, sophisticated computer models are used, but these models only focus on technical outcomes, which results in a strong disconnect between public policy, infrastructure management processes and user perceptions of infrastructure services. To connect policy, technical decisions and user perceptions new agent-based asset-management models are starting to be developed. By creating these models, stakeholders’ reactions to proposed policies can be explored prior to policy implementation. This ability to explore stakeholder reactions means that, for the first time, asset management strategies can be developed that meet stakeholder expectations, while ensuring the on-going functionality of the asset.