New methodology to sustainability assessment in viaducts: a case study in Cataluña, Spain

Abstract

Viaducts, like other infrastructure works, are essential for economic and social development. The construction of viaducts has been carried out for more than 4,000 years. Advances in construction technologies have allowed the development of larger and larger works. Mother requirements demands that these engineering jobs are sustainable. Therefore, they must be evaluated economically, environmentally, and socially to ensure that the resources they use do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The evaluation can be carried out under different methodologies. However, this work evaluates a viaduct with a new methodology based on the integration between the "Integrated Value Model for Sustainability Assessment" (MIVES) and the "Building Information Modeling" (BIM). Three evaluation scenarios are presented focused on an investor's point of view, on balanced sustainability, and finally, on an economic crisis scenario. The results indicate the robustness of the method.