Thiruvananthapuram: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has brought in a new system to collect data on the condition of bridges on all national highways thereby ensuring safety and avoid bridge collapses in the future. Through this project, known as ‘Real Time Bridge Health Monitoring’, it is possible to know the stability and strength of the bridges.
According to a circular issued by the ministry, real-time sensors will be installed on bridges to monitor the condition of bridges and to streamline the maintenance process of the bridges and avoid bridge accidents. It said condition assessment of bridges is important for carrying out preventive maintenance and repair, rehabilitation, retrofitting or reconstruction of such structures in time to avoid traffic disruptions and untoward incidents due to ‘failure’ of bridges.
Currently, bridges are monitored through visual surveys and periodic data inspections. But for important and major bridges, the parameters like strain, deflection, vibration, tilt, displacement, temperature, corrosion and scour through appropriate indicators need to be collected as per requirements. Hence, various types of sensors will be installed on the bridges to collect these data, which will be duly accounted for in detailed project reports (DPRs) of highway projects. The exact type, number, and locations of sensors for existing bridges will be approved by an expert committee comprising senior engineers.
The circular also stressed on the point that in some cases where continuous monitoring through visual surveys and periodic data inspections are not applicable, continuous or discrete type of data collection and monitoring can be undertaken on a real time basis by suitably installing sensors in different parts of the bridges permanently or for short duration. For example, real time data collection and monitoring can be permanent with continuous data collection where sensors are installed in the major bridges located in highly saline or polluted environments either at the time of construction or subsequently installed during the operation stage.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to install seven types of sensors. Such sensors will be installed on all bridges constructed by the national authority, including toll collection bridges and bridges across rivers.
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