A Broadened Approach to the Environmental Assessment in Bridge Design

The construction industry must cut its carbon footprint significantly and therefore needs to widen its performance indicators like safety, reliability, availability, and economy by environmental aspects. There are numerous challenges to an objective comparison of bridge design alternatives based on environmental considerations. In addition to the considerable uncertainties in the Global Warming Potential of construction materials the question of setting adequate boundaries for the environmental assessment must be addressed. The aim of the present case study of a typical overpass above a motorway is to illustrate the importance of the interaction between the structural design choices, such as the placement of an intermediate support, and their consequences for traffic. An objective environmental evaluation of bridge design choices must consider both aspects. The importance of such a broadened approach shall be highlighted in the present study.