Sustainable Design and Construction of Bridge – Case Study of Design of Arch Bridge in Nepal using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

The importance of sustainability in transport infrastructure continues to gain momentum. Policymakers and planners play a vital role in integrating sustainability into transport infrastructure, so sustainability assessment should begin with decision-making. This paper highlights the use of the Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) technique: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to compare bridge design options in terms of sustainability. AHP can be a user-friendly assessment tool in developing countries where incorporating sustainability is not prioritized yet. The project "Design and Build of Bridges along Narayanghat-Mugling Highway" in Nepal is selected as the case study. Using AHP, a monolithic concrete arch bridge was compared with a two simply supported spans of prestressed concrete bridge. Criteria such as economic, environment, construction ease and maintenance were incorporated in the AHP. The results of AHP show that the Arch bridge is a more sustainable design option.