MEMRRES: model for evaluating maintenance, repair and rehabilitation strategies in concrete bridge decks

It is very important for State Departments of Transportation (DOT) to establish strategies with regard to maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation (MR&R) of bridges. With the availability of Bridge Management Systems (BMS) such as PONTIS and BRIDGIT, owners are beginning to emphasize cost-effective proactive strategies from the start, when the bridge is new. Therefore, a model is required for the development of optimal MR&R action scenarios suitable to each DOT for effective management of the bridges. This article introduces a Model for Evaluating Maintenance, Repair and REhabilitation Strategies (MEMRRES) in concrete bridge decks. The MEMRRES assists the decision makers in determining the optimal MR&R strategy among the feasible MR&R strategies. The MEMRRES methodology is explained through a hypothetical example and is applied for determining the optimal MR&R strategy of concrete bridge decks for 24 State DOT (DOTs). It can be used as a tool by bridge engineers within their respective DOT to select cost-effective MR&R actions for concrete bridge decks.