Bridge

Monitoring the structural integrity of heavily used and aging bridges is complex work that often involves arrays of costly sensors, but new research has demonstrated how smartphones might one day do the heavy lifting.

With concrete being a major contributor of carbon emissions, a team led by the Eindhoven University of Technology is researching whether flax could be used as a greener building material, and to this end has completed a sensor-packed footbridge.

A first-of-its-kind 3D-printed concrete bridge has been unveiled in Venice, Italy. The bridge is a demonstration of a new 3D printing method resulting in a structure requiring no mortar or steel reinforcement.

MX3D has finally realized its ambitious plan to install the world's first 3D-printed steel bridge over a canal in Amsterdam. The public bridge features integrated sensors to collect data on its structural integrity, crowd behavior, and more.

Those nervous of heights should definitely steer clear of the newly completed 516 Arouca bridge. As its name suggests, it spans a total of length 516 m and is hailed as the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge by Portuguese officials.

Turning Paris from a City of Light to a City of Green has long been an ambition of Vincent Callebaut. His firm's latest project in this vein envisions a footbridge packed with fruit and vegetables that could produce almost 100 tons of food each year.

Today’s bridge columns offer great strength, but a new study suggests an alternative could not only offer greater durability under seismic activity, but also be repaired on the cheap should cracks start to appear.

In August 2018, a section of Genoa's Morandi Bridge collapsed, killing 43 people. Following the disaster, Renzo Piano's firm was chosen to design its replacement and, after 15 months of work, the new bridge is now complete and in use.

Visitors to Washington DC will soon be able to stroll through a sizable new park that spans the Anacostia River. The 11th Street Bridge Park will offer green space, viewing points, and educational areas, with some sustainable technology planned too.

An imaginative new approach to bridge-building was demonstrated for the first time in Austria last week. The novel construction method, likened to opening an umbrella, is designed to save considerable time, money and impact on the local landscape.

BIG recently completed a stunning new project in Norway. Named The Twist, it consists of a museum and bridge that twists 90 degrees near its center.

The Memorial Bridge doesn't just allow folks to cross over the Piscataqua River, it also serves as a living laboratory. Now home to a host of sensors, it provides data on the day-to-day life and health of the bridge itself, as well as monitoring the surrounding environment.