Case studies of structural health monitoring of bridges

Structural Health Monitoring of a number of bridges in Kentucky has proven to be an economical and effective method for extending the life of bridges and for providing the tools for immediate response and decision making. Three bridges are highlighted in this paper. The first bridge is on I-65 in Louisville where instrumentation that continuously monitors the bridge, permitted the design of an economical retro fit. The second bridge is on I-64 over US 60 where instrumentation continuously monitors the bridge for possible impact on the girders resulting from over the height limit trucks. The third bridge is on US 41 North over the Ohio River where instrumentation has been placed on the bridge piers to monitor for barge impact. For the I-64 and US 41 bridges, and in the case of an incident, selected personnel are notified via text messages on their cell phones along with e-mail messages. The messages identify the type of incident and its severity, and list the web site where the incident can be viewed along with data from the instrumentation on the bridge. Decisions can be made in minutes in regard to the course of action.