Identification of a suitable case study for the development of accessibility based vulnerability score for bridge maintenance decision making

Prioritising bridge maintenance interventions is a complex task that involves consideration of various factors, such as the bridge’s lifespan, characteristics, operating conditions, environmental impact, and the consequences of infrastructure unavailability for local communities. In this paper, network vulnerability analysis is used to enable local authorities to identify and evaluate changes of access levels across a disrupted network, thereby providing insight on the impacts to a broader range of socio-economic aspects and to society. The paper provides an overview of the road network in Ireland and identifies a suitable case study area to development of accessibility based vulnerability score for bridge maintenance decision making. A version of the Hansen’s gravity-based accessibility model where the indirect effects of bridge failure are accounted for by incorporating information on travel times and traffic flows between spatial units and essential services, as well as data on population, education, and employment opportunities in and around potentially affected areas is proposed.