ABSTRACT
Occasionally road network agencies are tasked to permit special vehicular transport of extreme loads network access. Feasible routes are commonly limited by the safety for a highway bridge to carry such loads. Conventional bridge safety desktop assessments are conservative, possibly suggesting no feasible routes. An additional measure for rational decision-making of extreme loads accessing historical bridges is desired. This study details how state-of-the-art structural reliability methods can provide such a measure. This is discussed through a hypothetical bridge, representative of some in Australia, subject to generalized extreme vehicle loads. Through this framework, the use of structural reliability methods for such heavy vehicle bridge access decision-making is demonstrated with significant potential benefits worldwide.
