Affiliations: Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE | Project Control Professional, Hatch Ltd., Montreal, QC, Canada
Note: [] Corresponding author. Sherif Yehia, Ph.D., PE, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, PO Box 26666, Sharjah, UAE. Tel.: +971 6 515 2892; Fax: +971 6 515 2979; E-mail: syehia@aus.edu
Abstract: Most of the major cities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have witnessed a rapid growth rate in population during the past two decades, which was accompanied by the development of major transportation infrastructure. This fast growth of the infrastructure and the pressure of constructing more infrastructures in the UAE cities did not allow the local authorities to develop a suitable Bridge Management System (BMS) to maintain the nation's valuable asset at acceptable levels of safety and serviceability. This paper aims at developing a conceptual framework for a BMS that recognizes the local conditions and needs of the UAE. To achieve this objective, the paper provides a review of the BMS around the world and a summary of the local practices and experiences in this area. In addition, a proposed framework for the development of a comprehensive bridge management system for UAE and discussion of the main components of the proposed BMS are presented.
