ABSTRACT
We explore in more detail the concept of bridges (or any other civil infrastructure) as an organism that is born, lives and dies (fails). We note that, similar to humans, there are three distinct phases of bridge life cycle: (a) its birth, (b) its normal existence (life), and (c) its death (failure). We propose that ensuring health of bridges applies to all phases of their life cycles. We immediately de‘ne the main attributes of healthy bridge during all phases as follows:
• A healthy bridge meets or exceeds stated performance goals • At reasonable costs
Among performance goals we can state further that the bridge should experience no unwarranted service interruptions due to distress, and partial or total failure. A healthy bridge should also perform its stated functions, such as load-carrying speci‘cations, in a safe and secure fashion. Near the end of the life cycle of the bridge, it is essential to control the decommissioning process, as opposed to abrupt failure/distress.
