Prioritization Framework for Asset Management of New Brunswick’s Covered Bridges

Heritage bridges, such as covered bridges, provide a connection to a past time and engineering methods, and form part of the architectural landscape. Accordingly, quality examples of heritage bridges should be maintained for future generations. To support the preservation of New Brunswick’s covered bridges, a novel prioritization framework was developed. The framework assesses both the network link importance and the social importance of each bridge. Four overarching strategies were then developed based on the social-link ratings. Based on the ranking of each bridge, one of the four strategies is used to inform the future management of each of the 54 covered bridges located on New Brunswick’s road network. The strategies include preservation of the existing bridge and movement of the traffic to a new bridge, preservation of the bridge and closure to traffic, decommissioning the existing bridge and replacement with a new bridge, and decommissioning of the existing bridge and removal of the highway link. How the strategy was developed and the components that form part of the assessment framework are described herein. The framework is currently being used to facilitate the transition of the exemplar covered bridges from active highway assets to lasting heritage sites.