A Pilot Study of Identifying Execution Plan Differences for Accelerated Bridge Construction

Abstract

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) is an innovative construction technique used to accelerate the construction of new bridges, as well as the renovation/replacement of existing bridges. Due to the benefits offered by ABC, transportation authorities have a higher preference in executing an accelerated approach over conventional bridge construction. The execution of an accelerated approach has differences when compared to the conventional approach, and it is important to identify such differences for the successful implementation of ABC projects. However, there have been no studies to identify such execution differences. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify execution plan differences relevant to ABC. For this purpose, an extensive literature review was conducted to prepare a preliminary list of execution plan differences. Then, a questionnaire survey was administered with the industry experts, who were previously involved in the execution of ABC projects, to validate the preliminary list. Based on the literature review and the responses from questionnaire survey, this study identified 61 execution plan differences relevant to ABC in different phases of execution. This study is expected to benefit owners, contractors, and road/bridge users for successful execution of ABC projects.