First bridge with aspects of the "Smart Bridge" released for traffic

The current German maintenance management system for bridges is mainly based on visual inspection and aims
at the repair of identified damages. In the project cluster “Smart Bridge” an adaptive system for information and
holistic evaluation in real time is developed. The adaptive system consists of suitable sensors, a sensor network,
analytical structural models and evaluation methods. A newly constructed prestressed concrete bridge positioned
in the highway interchange Nuremberg is the first bridge in Germany consisting of aspects of the Smart Bridge,
which is released for traffic. The impact of traffic loads and climatic effects are identified. Reactions of the
bridge structure and relevant bridge components are detected locally with regard to their functionality. By using
analytical bridge models and evaluation methods the condition and the reliability of the overall bridge
construction and its components as well as the remaining service life will be determined in the future.