ABSTRACT
Bridges are being constructed around the world and are increasing the number of assets to be maintained in the future. Since the Roman Empire to Victorian Era, the bridges are being constructed of timber, stone, masonry to the modern era of constructing the bridge with Glass-Fiber Reinforced Plastic materials. From stone masonry to concrete and steel, the bridge of each material type has different durability level, maintenance issues, repair and retrofitting requirements.
The modern bridges being constructed are more durable and lower life cycle cost. Now the focus is more on the environmental aggressivity in which the structure is being constructed and take adequate preventive measures at the design stage. The old structures before the 1980s have a lot of repair and retrofitting requirements. With the increasing load of traffic and the requirement to accommodate more number of lanes per bridge, it is a challenge for bridge engineers to check the structure to the lowest factor of safety, thus avoiding the widening of bridges in some cases and contributing to the long-term sustainability.
To overcome the challenges for the optimum use of bridges, the paper suggests the way forward for inspection, monitoring and asset management. With the BIM becoming more popular, it has also discussed about the requirement of single database of bridge assets where all the inspections, current and new assets information can be centrally located. The requirements for the assessment and repair of structures is discussed and the way forward for 3D printing for repair of concrete bridges. The paper also discusses about the various standards available for bridge maintenance in different countries. In the end, the critical discussion is presented about the future of bridges and repair requirements and the latest materials available to explore for use in structures to avoid major repair and maintenance in the future.
