A Methodological Framework for Bridge Surveillance

Abstract

The Italian “Guidelines for risk classification and management, security assessment and monitoring of existing bridges”, published in 2020 after the collapse of the Polcevera viaduct in Northern Italy, present a multilevel methodology that involves on-site operators and universities/research centers carrying out and validating a management process from on-site survey to the bridges’ condition assessment. The main goals of this process are to acquire appropriate knowledge of the current state and its evolution over time of the overall buildings that compose the infrastructures, with the aim to support the managing companies in a decision-making process and the purpose of guaranteeing service in full safety. In particular, the guidelines propose the use of engineered software platforms for data digitalization of the structures with the aim to create a Building Management System (BMS) in which the main historical and current state information is collected and can then be uploaded continually. In 2020, the CUGRI (Inter-University Research Center for the Prediction and Prevention of Major Hazards) and the SAM (Southern Highways Company) launched an innovative surveillance management model established on a multidisciplinary approach based on Geography Markup Language (GML), BIM tools, on-site interdisciplinary inspections, and multi-hazard analysis. The experimented methodology provides the on-site training of inspectors, the elaboration of suitable BIM models according to the above guidelines, and AINOP (National Archive of Public Infrastructures) requirements, and an expert judgement process for preliminary bridge assessment and data validation to support the maintenance managing process. The study presents an innovative operative model for the surveillance process, which integrates on-site expeditious inspections and multidisciplinary expert judgements by using an appropriate digitalization of the bridges with BIM and GIS technologies. The paper illustrates the experimental methodology performed on the A3 highway, which connects Naples to Salerno in Southern Italy, highlighting issues and opportunities, moreover in a first interdisciplinary contribution of object-oriented landslide mapping modelling.