Rapid Post-Earthquake Safety Evaluation of Bridges

A new procedure for rapid post-earthquake safety evaluation of bridges is being developed, using existing strong motion records, PGA data immediately available following an earthquake, and fragility databases, to assist responsible parties in making timely, informed decisions regarding post-earthquake bridge closures. The New Carquinez Bridge was selected to demonstrate the procedure. This paper provides a procedure overview and its application to safety evaluation of a bridge following an earthquake event, and the development to date of this process, including earthquake scenario selection and generation of ground motions for nonlinear time history analyses of the bridge to establish component fragility data.