Abstract

An approach to estimate the indirect economic loss due to damaged bridges within the highway system from an earthquake event is presented. The indirect cost considered refers to the increased highway transportation cost only. The study zone covers the St. Louis metropolitan area and its surrounding suburban regions. An earthquake scenario centered in St. Louis, with a magnitude 7.0 is used. The direct earthquake loss was primarily damage to bridges, which causes an increase in travel time and distance within the transportation network. This information is then used as input for the indirect loss model. The indirect loss is examined from an economic perspective. The results reveal that the indirect loss is significant when compared to the direct loss resulting from bridge damage. From the study results, a transportation network planner can prepare an appropriate preventive action plan (such as choosing alternative routes for potential damaged links, as well as reinforcing possible high damage bridges) to reduce the potential losses before the earthquake occurs.

Department(s)

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering

Second Department

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

St. Louis-Missouri; Bridges; Damage; Earthquake; Economic Loss

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1527-6988

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Final Version

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2008 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2008

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