Exploring the Design Practice, Trends, and Gaps of Urban Bridges in Ethiopia towards Sustainability

Abstract

Bridges carrying railways, roads, and pedestrians in rural and urban regions have tremendous characteristics. The case of urban bridges is quite typical for a visual view of the complexity of the characteristics of urban Ethiopia. The existing urban environment in Ethiopia demands great attention regarding bridge infrastructure. The dynamism of urbanity depends on multiple factors such as institutional capabilities for commissioning, monitoring, and decommissioning; professional competence; and culture. The provision of urban bridges should be viewed holistically, beginning with planning and design and continuing through construction. The approach so far has been single-handed, and this creates an unbalanced delivery of the infrastructure. This article explores the existential trends and practices of urban bridge design and identifies the main challenges of practicing sustainability in the design process in Ethiopia. The research is methodically based on a qualitative approach to identify the expert opinions of professionals and designers who are currently participating in urban infrastructure design. The data were gathered through interviews, and the findings show that the practice of sustainable urban bridge design is still in its infancy, and even the concept is unclear to many professionals in the field. While the study emphasizes the importance of sustainable urban bridge provision, it also highlights challenges such as lack of awareness, weak institutional capacity and culture, and lack of mandatory sustainable codes and standards.