Abstract. This paper proposes a framework for quantifying the value of information that can be derived from a structural health monitoring (SHM) system installed on a bridge which may sustain damage in the mainshock of an earthquake and further damage in an aftershock. The pre-posterior Bayesian analysis and the decision tree are the two main tools employed. The evolution of the damage state of the bridge with an SHM system is cast as a time-dependent, stochastic, discrete-state, observable dynamical system. An optimality problem is then formulated how to decide on the adoption of SHM and how to manage traffic and usage of a possibly damaged structure using the information from SHM. The objective function is the expected total cost or risk. The paper then discusses how to quantify bridge damage probability through stochastic seismic hazard and fragility analysis, how to update these probabilities using SHM technologies, and how to quantify bridge failure consequences.