The objective of this research was to develop a comprehensive cost-benefit methodology, complete with realistic parameter values, to be used by highway administrators to determine added costs justified to prevent or remedy ice or frost on bridge decks, with emphasis on localized icing. As a result of the collection of cost data on current techniques and of a sampling of bridge accident and localized bridge icing frequency and duration data, it was possible to develop a technique for predicting accident frequencies, given various characteristics of a bridge (e.g. average daily traffic, length, width, location, divided versus undivided highway, concrete versus other material), and to develop a cost-benefit methodology comparing accident costs incurred without a countermeasure system minus with those incurred with a countermeasure system. Numerical examples were then calculated using data from selected regions for a variety of countermeasures. It was concluded that the methodology is comprehensive in scope and flexible enough for a variety of situations and countermeasure systems and can be used by anyone willing to use the data collection procedures described in the study in order to develop the more precise (with regard to location and road surface conditions) road accident data base that would be required. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting