Application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Shaping Bridge Structures

<ns3:p>Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool supporting decision-making in the field of shaping and designing bridges in terms of the impact of the structure type on the environment, in particular with regard to difficult to measure environmental parameters such as the ozone layer, climate or eutrophication, which are difficult to fully and reliably estimate using other methods.For the comparative LCA analysis, a typical road bridge structure (viaduct) was selected, located in the line of a single carriageway G/GP road over an expressway (S road). For the comparative analysis, 3 variants of the bridge structure were adopted: variant A – concrete structure made of typical prestressed precast beams, variant B – composite structure made of rolled steel beams and variant C – concrete structure with post-tensioned concrete girders. The LCA analysis was carried out on bridge structures at the stage of their construction as well as in their technical life cycle, taking into account the adopted maintenance scenarios for each of them. From an environmental point of view, the most advantageous option throughout the life cycle is variant A – a structure with prestressed precast concrete beams. The LCA analysis used proved to be a good tool for shaping the structure of a typical road viaduct</ns3:p>