The lifespan of construction works is crucial to achieve a low environmental impact for aprovided function. Supplementary cementitious materials are increasingly used in concrete production where the effect on the service life of structures needs to be assessed. In order to achieve a long service life, the design, flexibility in the design and workmanship also needs to be addressed.

Today’s LCC and LCA analyses are based on statistics of service life of older bridges and are not material specific. There is still a lack of information about how the service life of concrete bridges is affected by different measures. The overall goal of this project was to close this information gap. The project aimed at describing key factors that affect the lifespan of concrete bridges. Key factors may reflect aspects of both durability and the utility of the design. The purpose was to investigate how the service life can be included in LCA and LCC analyses and to create a basis for future LCA and LCC analyses of concrete road bridges.

Factors affecting the service life of concrete bridges have been identified through a literature survey and interviews. The studies comprised the service life of concretebridges, durability, service life models, requirements and guidelines, previous LCA and LCC studies as well as service life-extending measures throughout the whole lifecycle from material production to the end-of-life.

The studies showed that reinforcement corrosion caused by chlorides is the most common cause of damage in concrete bridges where the service life of parts of theconstruction is usually shorter than the design service life. Even though frost resistance has historically been more restricting when choosing a concrete composition. The restrictions have, however, been reduced lately but there needs to be more focus on finding a design method that takes into account the impact of the concrete composition regarding reinforcement corrosion in order to find the most suitable solution for each individual case.

The study shows the service life of concrete bridges depends not only on the expert’s knowledge of concrete but also on quality of execution. There is great potential to extend the service life of concrete bridges and to reduce their climate impact. However, it is important that the service life-extending measures also have a low embodied impact.

The results of the survey show that technology and cost are the highest priority for mostrespondents, except for researchers where the focus is more on the environment and durability. Many also consider that contractors should set more demands towards environmentally friendly solutions.

The results are compiled in the form of recommendations for reduced environmental impact and costs, as well as for how an LCA and LCC can be carried out with regard to service life.