Establishment of a Sustainability Assessment System for Bridges

Abstract

In this paper, with the motivation of “green” and “sustainability” for bridge projects, ten key indicators were selected to establish a reliable and applicable sustainability assessment system. It is also expecting the civil infrastructure to be developed more ecologically, environmentally, and friendly by applying the proposed assessment system. The data collection method in this research is questionnaire-based expert interviews. The questionnaire results were well analyzed and calculated for the key indicators’ weights by adopting the top two boxes theory (TTBT) and multiple attribute value theory (MAVT). Consequently, the sustainability assessment system for green civil infrastructure (SASGCI) was established to evaluate infrastructure projects’ sustainability achievements. In this study, the authors conclude the weights of ten key indicators for bridges as follows: risk mitigation and reliability: 15.3%, durability: 15.1%, landscape: 11.5%, ecology: 10.6%, benefit and function: 9.7%, environmental protection and carbon emissions reduction: 9.5%, waste reduction: 8.5%, energy-saving: 7.1%, creativity: 7.0%, and humanities and culture reservation: 5.6%. An example of a scenic bridge in Taiwan is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the established SASGCI for sustainability evaluation. The result indicates that the evaluation system is successful.