OVERVIEW
Stage one was to understand why the steel beam had broken and design a solution. Stage two was to inspect the entire bridge and ensure no other elements were broken. We used our in-house drone capability to support the inspections. We then moved to the future-proofing of the bridge. We needed to understand how each piece worked and the stress and strain they were under. We needed to ensure the safety of our people inspecting the bridge.
We installed sensors on the bridge and then ran automatic calculations to understand if the bridge was working correctly. We also added a prediction tool which allows us to run scenario testing (e.g for bad weather). This allows for diversions to be planned with less disruption.
BENEFITS
- The new system provides live data which allows our engineers to make decisions about maintenance.
- This helps us manage the bridge and keep it open in all but extreme conditions.
- This ensures that the travelling public and the economy of Scotland is not impacted.
FURTHER ROLL-OUT AND DEVELOPMENT
This bridge management system is owned by Amey and is being rolled out on the Severn Bridges and Avonmouth. It is being rolled out across other critical bridges in Scotland.