Ground vibrations: a neglected external cost in the life cycle of transportation infrastructure?

Abstract

External costs, which are usually taken into consideration during cost-benefit analysis of different variants of a transportation problem solution, are traffic accidents, noise, and emissions of pollutants including effects on climate changes and congestion. Sometimes some other costs can be included. The effects of ground vibrations during the life-cycle of transportation infrastructure are very often neglected. The most threatening sources of vibrations are blasts and drilling during tunnel construction, vibrations caused by construction machines during road construction and pavement maintenance and vibrations caused by heavy road traffic. During the construction of the motorway in southeastern Slovenia, all these effects were measured and analyzed. The results can help ministries responsible for spatial planning, environment and transportation, to solve some major problems about: i) how to decide about variants of future infrastructure in which external costs are gaining in importance and damage caused by ground-borne vibrations was one of the most neglected criteria in the past and ii) how to decide about requirements about financial compensation to inhabitants affected by transportation infrastructure.