ABSTRACT
An important part for the economic growth and social development of a modern society is the safety and reliability performance of its civil infrastructure (Frangopol and Liu, 2007). Valuable assets for most countries are their existing structures which are deteriorating at an alarming rate due to overuse, overloading, aging or damage (Frangopol and Messervey, 2007). For instance, bridges, which are vulnerable beyond doubt, are subjected to aggressive environment such as chemical attack from deicing salts, environmental stressors, as well as continuously increasing traffic volumes (Frangopol and Liu, 2007). In addition, many existing structures are close or above their planned lifetime.
