A Study on the Asset Management of Japan Road Bridges for the Future—Plan for the Low Cost Maintenance with New System and IT Means

In Japan, about 160 thousand road bridges are 15m or longer. These bridges are getting older year by year. The budget for maintaining them will be a big problem in the near future because the amount of budget for these infrastructure facilities has been reduced year by year in Japan. This paper studies the problem above and suggests two solutions. First, one is to review the theory of bridge life span. The general life span of a bridge seems to be 50 years in Japan; but, I think it is doubtful. I reviewed the original data and I found the life span of bridges must be longer. Second, one is to introduce new ways for local governments to maintain the bridges with smaller budgets by using new social systems and information technology. A new system in which a private cell phone will be used needs to meet conditions for residents, local government and requires the support for the local government.