Life‐Cycle Considerations in Urban Infrastructure Engineering

Abstract

Repair, rehabilitate, reconstruct, or replace? These are the choices when decisions are to be made about upgrading deteriorating transportation systems to meet urgent needs in older urban areas of the United States. Unfortunately, most of the available attention is given to the serious problem of finding funds for these major construction efforts. Funding concerns tend to mask an equally important requirement—the need to develop a rational basis for making far‐reaching decisions about the required degree of rehabilitation or replacement. These decisions should be based on evaluations of life‐cycle considerations and costs, preferably made early in the life of a transportation system, because these evaluations influence the entire useful life of the facility and determine its true total cost to the public. This paper discusses life cycles, engineering considerations in each cycle, and research and education needs. Finally, rational approaches are suggested to finding lower‐cost solutions for the ubiquitous and growing national problem of decaying transportation infrastructure.