Green Technology for Motorway Overpasses

Overpasses are essential to establish permeability of highways for the wildlife. Width and length are the key technical parameters influencing the overpass effectiveness. It is crucial to secure the proper technology and correct water management on its surface. Wildlife behaviour and their requirements for the above stated technical parameters of overpasses have also been investigated. In all cases, the overpass performance increases with enlarging the width and drop with an increasing length. The goal is therefore to achieve a balanced compromise allowing sufficient functionality while also sustaining reasonable costs. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) provides a method to select a “good” solution in the sense of sufficient overpass performance with moderate total expenses. Overpass performance calculations were made on the original methodology pioneered by the author. Overall expenses were provided based on actual construction costs in the Czech Republic, including expenses for preparations, design, construction, maintenance, and demolition. The results show that DEA has proven to be a very appropriate method for identifying suitable solutions that can be effective in designing measures to secure the highway’s permeability for the wildlife.