The Story Bridge, with its sweeping metal trusses and artwork deco towers, is a hanging sight above the Brisbane River in Queensland. In 2025, it was named the state’s greatest landmark. However greater than an icon, it serves as one of many important arteries of the state capital, carrying greater than 100,000 autos every day.
However a current report revealed severe structural points within the 85-year-old bridge. These included the deterioration of concrete, corrosion and overloading on pedestrian footpaths.
The findings prompted an pressing closure of the footpath for security causes. Additionally they highlighted the urgency of Brisbane Metropolis Council’s deliberate bridge restoration venture.
However this instance – and much more tragic ones from all over the world in recent times – have additionally sparked a broader dialog in regards to the security of ageing bridges and different city infrastructure. A easy, proactive step generally known as structural well being monitoring may also help.
Quite a few collapses
In January 2022, the Fern Hole Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the USA collapsed and injured a number of folks. This collapse was attributable to intensive corrosion and the fracturing of an important metal element. It stemmed from poor upkeep and failure to behave on repeated inspection suggestions. These issues have been compounded by insufficient inspections and oversight.
Three years earlier, Taiwan’s Nanfang’ao Bridge collapsed. Publicity to damp, salty sea air had severely weakened its suspension cables. Six folks beneath the bridge died.
In August 2018, Italy’s Morandi Bridge fell, killing 43 folks. The collapse was attributable to corrosion in pre-stressed concrete and metal tendons. These elements have been worsened by inspection and upkeep challenges.
In August 2007, a bridge within the US metropolis of Minneapolis collapsed, killing 13 folks and injuring 145. This collapse was primarily attributable to beforehand unnoticed issues with the design of the bridge. But it surely additionally demonstrated how ageing infrastructure, coupled with rising masses and ineffective routine visible inspections, can exacerbate inherent weaknesses.
A technology-driven answer
Structural well being monitoring is a technology-driven method to assessing the situation of infrastructure. It will probably present close to real-time data and allow well timed decision-making. That is essential in the case of managing ageing buildings.
The method doesn’t rely solely on occasional periodic inspections. As a substitute it makes use of sensors, knowledge loggers and analytics platforms to repeatedly monitor stress, vibration, displacement, temperature and corrosion on important elements.
This method can considerably enhance our understanding of bridge efficiency in comparison with conventional evaluation fashions. In a single case, it up to date a bridge’s estimated fatigue life – the remaining lifetime of the construction earlier than fatigue-induced failure is predicted to happen– from simply 5 years to greater than 52 years. This finally prevented pointless and expensive restoration.
Good structural health-monitoring techniques can final a number of a long time. They are often built-in with synthetic intelligence strategies and bridge data modelling to develop digital twin-based monitoring platforms.
The price of structural well being monitoring techniques varies by bridge dimension and the extent of monitoring required. Some easy techniques can value only a few thousand {dollars}, whereas extra superior ones can value greater than A$300,000.
These techniques require ongoing operational assist – sometimes 10% to twenty% of the set up value yearly – for knowledge administration, system upkeep, and knowledgeable decision-making.
Moreover, whereas superior techniques may be expensive, scalable structural well being monitoring options enable authorities to begin small and develop over time.
A mannequin for proactive administration
The design of structural well being monitoring techniques has been integrated into new large-scale bridge designs, similar to Sutong Bridge in China and Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge within the US.
However maybe probably the most compelling instance of those techniques in motion is the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, Canada.
Opened in 1930, it shares design similarities with Brisbane’s Story Bridge. And, like many ageing buildings, it faces its personal challenges.
Opened in 1930, the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, Canada, shares design similarities with Brisbane’s Story Bridge.
Pinkcandy/Shutterstock
Nonetheless, authorities managing the Jacques Cartier Bridge have embraced a proactive method via complete structural well being monitoring techniques. The bridge has been outfitted with greater than 300 sensors.
Acoustic emission monitoring allows early detection of micro-cracking exercise, whereas long-term instrumentation tracks structural deformation and dynamic behaviour throughout key spans.
Satellite tv for pc-based radar imagery provides a distant, non-intrusive layer of deformation monitoring, and superior knowledge evaluation ensures that the huge quantities of sensor knowledge are translated into well timed, actionable insights.
Collectively, these applied sciences exhibit how a well-integrated structural-health monitoring system can assist proactive upkeep, prolong the lifetime of ageing infrastructure – and finally enhance public security.
A means ahead for Brisbane – and past
The Story Bridge’s present challenges are severe, however in addition they current a chance.
By investing in the best structural well being monitoring system, Brisbane can prepared the ground in trendy infrastructure administration – defending lives, restoring public confidence, preserving heritage and setting a precedent for cities all over the world.
As local weather change, city progress, and ageing belongings put rising strain on our transport networks, sensible monitoring is not a luxurious – it’s a necessity.
