Environmentally conscious structural design and material selection of short-span bridges

In Hungary and in the Eastern European region the maintenance of small-span bridges built in recent decades – mostly for pedestrians and railways – tends to be less than perfect, so it is not a rare phenomenon that structurally adequate bridges have to be demolished well before their theoretical 100-year design life. Consequently, a critical part of current design tasks is to help our structures cope with very little maintenance but without reduction in their useful life. In addition, in new design tasks, sustainability must be pursued, keeping in mind the principles of environmental awareness that are increasingly coming to the fore. This can be achieved with smart structural design solutions and adequate material selection. This paper presents design principles used in recent projects to create more sustainable bridges supported by LCA calculations.