ABSTRACT
Bridges experience various damages and deteriorations during their service life. Therefore, they need regular inspections, maintenance and repairs to ensure that they perform above a minimum performance level at all times. A large amount of funds are required today for the repairs and upgrade of deficient bridges. For example, according to USA TODAY (2006), the Federal Highway Administration puts the current cost of upgrading bridges at $63 billion. This situation makes optimum fund allocation and life-cycle cost analysis a priority for bridge management systems and resource allocation.
