Evaluation and Prioritization of Safety Standards in the Design and Construction of Bridges and Tunnels in Road Projects

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Shahab Hassanpour 1
Aref Amrayi Astani 2
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Ayatollah Borujerdi University, Borujerd, Iran.
2 M.Sc., Grad., Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Boroujerd, Iran.
10.22034/road.2026.544921.2428
Abstract
Bridge and tunnel safety, as vital elements of transportation infrastructure, requires a systematic evaluation of relevant criteria and sub-criteria. This study, adopting an applied–descriptive approach, employed the AHP and BWM methods to prioritize safety criteria. Two separate questionnaires were designed for bridges and tunnels, and responses were collected from 30 experts in the fields of structural engineering, geotechnics, fire safety, operation, and traffic management. The AHP results, with a consistency ratio (CR) below 0.1, indicated that for bridges, “structural stability” (0.092) and “material quality” (0.090) were the most important criteria, whereas for tunnels, “emergency evacuation and rescue” (0.089), “ventilation and smoke extraction” (0.087), and “fire/explosion resistance” (0.085) ranked highest. At the level of main categories, the share of design was 49% in tunnels and 40% in bridges, construction and execution accounted for 31% and 40% respectively, and operation and maintenance represented 20% in both. The BWM analysis confirmed this pattern, showing that for bridges, “natural hazard safety” (0.089) and “quality control and inspection” (0.088) were most significant, while in tunnels, “emergency evacuation and rescue” (0.093) and “ventilation” (0.090) were top-ranked. These findings highlight that in bridges, emphasis should be placed on structural integrity and material quality, whereas in tunnels, greater attention must be directed toward emergency preparedness and fire management.
Keywords
safety
Tunnel safety
Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM)
Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)
Best–Worst Method (BWM)
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doi.org/10.22034/cpj.2024.447136.1266
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