Sustainability and Lifecycle Assessment of Timber-Concrete Composite Bridges

Abstract

Over the last few years there has been a renewed interest on the use of timber-concrete composite (TCC) structures in bridge decks, possibly because of their cost competitiveness and environmental friendliness. Accordingly, this paper investigates the sustainability of TCC bridge decks under a threefold environmental, economic, and sociocultural perspective. Two different types of decks, which represent the overall characteristics of TCC bridges constructed around the world, are first described. Next, the paper presents a comparative sustainability assessment of two existing concrete bridges and their TCC deck potential alternatives (of the types previously mentioned); a lifecycle methodology, based on standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and other publications, is followed. The main conclusions are that, when compared with concrete decks, TCC solutions cause less environmental impact and are cost-competitive. Regarding sociocultural impacts, this analysis reveals the lower user-incurred costs of one of the TCC deck types.