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Bridge Project Prioritization

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has previously used sufficiency ratings to prioritize bridge projects. These ratings weighted three factors – structural evaluation, design obsolescence, and asset importance – to determine eligibility for federal funding. However, this approach omitted factors which can justifiably be used to prioritize projects. Additionally, there was no way to combine risk and condition factors in prioritization, which inhibited KYTC’s ability to rank the relative importance of its assets to the overall network. Currently, input from district personnel informs bridge project prioritization; however, KYTC wants to integrate a Bridge Importance Index into the process, an approach several other states have adopted. Researchers in this group are collaborating with the Bridge Preservation and Special Projects and Initiatives groups to develop an index that synthesizes data on bridge condition and other factors. This work will help KYTC make project prioritization decisions and allow such information to be incorporated into risk-based asset management.