The performance of bridges in an earthquake is critical to the mobility of nearly all transportation modes after the event. Damage to bridges near critical facilities, such as airports and ports, can also limit the contributions of those facilities to the post-event mobility of people and freight. Consequently, local, state, and federal engineers and emergency managers need reliable estimates of post-event bridge functionality so that they can plan pre-event mitigation, post-event response and mobility, and long-term recovery. The goal of this project is to predict the post-earthquake functionality of the approximately 10,000 bridges in Oregon and Washington following a Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) magnitude-9.0 earthquake. The project will also evaluate the likelihood that crucial highway lifeline corridors will be available to support post-earthquake mobility. Key results from this project will include a database of bridge performance metrics for 100,000 simulated cases of bridge and intensity measures, and maps that show probable bridge functionality and re-opening times following CSZ earthquakes. These maps will enable WSDOT and ODOT to plan and make informed decisions about post-earthquake emergency routes.
Principal Investigators:
Christopher Motter, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Adam Phillips, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Marc Eberhard, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Jeffrey Berman, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Brett Maurer, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Sponsor: PacTrans
Scheduled completion: August 2022