EURO MED SEC 03


BUNDLING: AN INNOVATION IN BRIDGE DELIVERY

DANIEL D’ANGELO, R. EDWARD MINCHIN JR., YIFENG TIAN, BANG AN


Abstract

Public transportation agencies in the US have broken down the management of their bridge assets into four parts: preservation, preventive maintenance, rehabilitation, or replacement. As these agencies continue their battle to update and rehabilitate their civil infrastructure, bundling multiple bridge construction projects into a single contract can save money, human resources and time. State and local public agencies (LPAs) are beginning to employ this concept, but since practices and methods for bridge bundling are not yet standardized, the Federal Highway Administration has pursued tools and techniques to help these agencies successfully apply bridge bundling. A successful bridge bundling program focuses on a specific group (or bundle) of bridges that are slated for any of the four management areas, and navigates all the bridges in the bundle through the process from conception to completion. This is accomplished in the shortest time possible, with the support of the proper funding options and/or partnerships, Bridge bundling has demonstrated its ability to serve as an efficient and effective approach for sustaining and upgrading bridge assets through use of both federal and non-Federal funds. Use of the tool has led to cost savings and accelerated project delivery, and bridge bundling has proven itself valuable in all four of the major tactics currently employed to manage bridges.

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