Strategic Prioritization of Highway Bridges for the Safe Implementation of Truck Platooning in Ontario: A Risk-Based Multiscale Assessment Approach

In Canada, approximately 90% of freight shipments are hauled by trucks. With the emergence of ‘Connected and Autonomous Vehicles’ (CAV) technology, trucks can form platoons to travel in close, high-speed formations. There is a gain in fuel efficiency but also increased load effects on existing highway bridges. The unique load patterns associated with CAV-enabled platoons necessitate a thorough review and upgrade of existing highway bridges to ensure their safety and serviceability. This study introduces a strategic approach to determine the priority of bridges for rehabilitation to ensure safe adoption of truck platooning. In particular, the approach utilizes a risk-based, multiscale assessment framework that integrates both component-level and network-level analysis to identify bridges that require urgent attention in preparation for truck platooning. At the component level, bridges are assessed for their load and current condition ratings, which inform their abilities to withstand the new loads introduced by platooning trucks. At the network level, the criticality of each bridge is evaluated using network topology measures to understand the potential impact of a bridge failure on the broader transportation system. Our assessment helps prioritize bridges that not only have structural deficiencies but also play a critical role in the transportation network. As a case study, the proposed approach is applied to determine highway bridges in Ontario with regard to their readiness for truck platooning. None of the examined bridges are grouped into the top two priority levels, indicating that critical bridges in Ontario are generally structurally adequate for the implementation of truck platoons.