ABSTRACT
Improving the condition and safety of deteriorating bridges usually requires large amount of investments. According to ASCE (2009), more than 26% of the bridges in the United States are structurally deficient, and $17 billion (in 2006 dollars) annual investments are is required over the next 50 years to eliminate all existing and arising bridge deficiencies over this time interval. Bridge managers are usually faced with the problem of allocating limited financial resources in a cost-effective manner to maintain adequate functionality of deteriorating bridges (Liu and Fran gopol 2005a). Life-cycle analysis has been well recognized as a significant tool to maximize the cost-effectiveness of improving bridge condition and safety in addition to extending service life. Therefore, understanding of life-cycle analysis is necessary and essential for bridge engineers and managers.
