A new era in bridge building
Bridges old and new dot the European landscape in all shapes and forms, crossing rivers, valleys and waterways to facilitate transport and the quality of life for numerous communities. The EU-funded project 'Flexible processes and improved technologies for urban infrastructure construction sites' (Pantura) is creating high-tech tools and strategies to radically upgrade and accelerate bridge construction, maintenance and renovation. The project is designing ways to reduce labour, equipment and costly on-site activities through off-site construction, minimising disruption and reducing emissions. It is evaluating 20 existing bridge projects, establishing new strengthening techniques, investigating novel building materials, enhancing repair strategies and analysing best practices in the field. This lends insight into the impact of different decisions over time, introducing factors other than cost into the equation and providing an integrated approach to building and improving bridges. Among its achievements, the project team developed a new strengthening and repair system for most types of bridges, featuring load-bearing beams that use pre-stressed composites without requiring anchorage systems. It has also made significant progress regarding the behaviour of adhesive joints and improvement of joints through geometrical modifications. Once the project completes its operational strategy for organising construction processes in the most sustainable way, it will develop an interactive tool to plan and coordinate repairs and construction. The web-based tool will be able to integrate and manage logistics, geographical information, computer modelling scenarios and online monitoring. Towards the end of the project, the team will produce a comprehensive report on technical specifications for new concept design and engineering, including design guidelines and best practices. The report will also contain recommendations for off-site fabrication and on-site assembly of bridge components. These outcomes will be invaluable in enhancing bridge repair and construction, improving urban infrastructure projects and benefiting the mobility of citizens significantly.
