Sustainable bridges –LCA for a composite and a concrete bridge - Economical Bridge Solutions based on Innovative Composite Dowels and Integrated Abutments - page 34

Figure 1: Steps of a Life Cycle Assessment as defined by ISO standards [1].

2. Description of the bridges

The two bridges exhibit a typical layout with two spans of 2 x 29.27m. They were designed
to fulfil the same function. Fig. 2 shows the example of a typical two-span composite bridge.

Figure 2: Composite bridge over A5 highway at Bremgarten (D) with 2 x 30m span,

rolled beams in HISTAR460 and concrete crossbeams

Two alternatives have been compared: solution A, a prestressed concrete bridge, and
solution B, a composite bridge made of a steel bearing structure and partially prefabricated
concrete elements. The section of this latter bridge is shown in Fig. 3 and the bill of quantities
for both solutions is shown in Fig. 4.