Discussion of Consequence Parameters for Risk Assessment of Bridges and Retaining Structures

Numerous risk studies address the consequences of bridge and retaining structure failures within infrastructure networks. Although there are general recommendations for the selection of consequence and damage parameters, the risk studies show considerable variation in both the number of consequence parameters and the selection of such parameters. Of course, not only theoretical considerations play an important role, but also the availability of data on the parameters and the possibility of using surrogates. For example, some risk studies use only a few outcome parameters, while others use up to fifty. Few risk studies consider potential fatalities and injuries, while others use surrogates such as traffic volume on bridges. This paper reviews the most common consequence parameters and provides recommendations for their practical application. Ultimately, a trade-off between feasibility, data availability and risk analysis requirements must always be made in practice.