Proceedings Article | 26 October 2022
KEYWORDS: Bridges, Geographic information systems, Remote sensing, Nondestructive evaluation, Unmanned aerial vehicles, Laser scanners, Satellites, Roads, Databases, Interferometric synthetic aperture radar
The monitoring of the structural integrity of road and transport infrastructures, and in particular of bridges and viaducts, has now become a priority issue, emphasized by the progressive decay of the characteristics of building materials, and deterioration of the works, which can cause damage and collapses with dramatic consequences. Following recent bridge collapses, including the "Polcevera Bridge” in Genoa, Italy, the Ministry of Infrastructures and Sustainable Mobility (MIMS) issued in 2020 specific Guidelines on the classification and risk management, safety assessment and monitoring of existing bridges. In this context, the creation of information catalogues for the mapping of structures and the implementation of innovative procedures for monitoring, appear to be a crucial step for public bodies and managing bodies end of assessing the state of the civil structures such as bridges and identifying the priorities maintenance actions. To date, monitoring operations of bridges are typically conducted through visual inspections, coring and punctual measurements carried out by specialized operators and, more rarely, through the use of Non-Destructive Technologies (NDT). On the other hand, in recent years, satellite radar remote sensing techniques have always been applied much more effectively at monitoring infrastructures, civil works, bridges and viaducts. Among the modern techniques, Multi-Temporal Satellite Radar Interferometry (MT-InSAR) is currently established as a reliable tool for control and monitoring of deformation phenomena of the soil and large-scale infrastructures, capable of returning information with millimetre accuracy. Moreover, the knowledge about structural materials, structural elements and defect state of the bridge collected by onsite inspection, is crucial to verify the stability to actual traffic and dynamic loads, not expected in the design phases. This work reports a methodology useful for evaluating the viaducts and bridges stability at the network-scale level, proposing a multi-level monitoring protocol from the integration of information from different sources and technologies, including ground-based, structural and remote sensing information. The activities are carried out as a part of the “MLAZIO” project, approved and supported by the Lazio Region. The first phase of this project involves the creation of a vector database for bridges mapping and localization, and the development of an informatic catalogue for the management of works, also including a view of the geo-eGovernment of the infrastructures. Such a system is developed on a platform interoperable in a Geographical Information System (GIS), already prepared for the expected integrations in the later stages of the project, which includes on-site inspections, NDTs ground-based and satellite remote sensing investigations. This project aims to create a reliable and effective methodology for the risk assessment and management of existent bridges. This study paves the way for optimizing the planning procedures of the interventions of ordinary and extraordinary maintenance activities by developing a prototype for the development of a Bridge Management System (BMS) at a regional level, increasing the resilience of the investigated infrastructures and bridges.
