Developing a seismic bridge reliability model to enhance its resilience: a study on reinforced concrete bridges in Algeria

Bridges are critical points in transportation networks because they are exposed to various natural and human-caused hazards, leading to partial or complete service interruption. Bridges must maintain their societal functions, especially after events such as earthquakes, because they play a vital role in emergency response, relief operations and damage mitigation. This paper proposes an improved model for evaluating the reliability of reinforced concrete bridges before seismic events, to improve their resilience to earthquakes and enable effective preparedness for disasters. In the first phase of this study, a group of important factors that affect the reliability of the bridge were identified, based on the opinions of experts and a comprehensive reading of the current literature in this field, These factors include the current physical condition of the bridge, the seismic hazard, the seismic design, the importance of the bridge in terms of traffic, and the geometry of the bridges. In the second stage, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to determine the relative impact of each factor compared to other factors.The third stage is to calculate the bridge's seismic reliability index (RSI) by combining the weights of these factors with the score for each case.Three classifications of seismic reliability were proposed for low, medium and high. The model has been applied to many reinforced concrete bridges in earthquake-prone areas in Algeria. The model provides valuable insights for evaluating bridge reliability and can help decision makers and officials make proactive decisions that will improve seismic resilience. Finally, the results obtained are summarized in this paper.