[Slide Show] "Smart" Bridges Harness Technology to Stay Safe
Engineers are deploying sensors to monitor the condition of some of the world's most famous bridges
![[Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/AABE95E0-0B99-4913-A352317FC83B1D95.jpg?w=590&h=393)
[Slide Show] "Smart" Bridges Harness Technology to Stay Safe
- RIO-ANTIRIO CHARILAOS TRIKOUPIS BRIDGE, GREECE The six-lane Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge in Greece links the town of Rio to the mainland, across the Gulf of Corinth. The two-mile (three-kilometer) bridge has roughly 300 sensors that monitor its condition and alert operators if an earthquake or high winds warrant shutting it down to traffic... © GUILLAUME PIOLLE/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
- KAP SHUI MUN BRIDGE, HONG KONG, CHINA The Kap Shui Mun Bridge is the second longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Like the Tsing Ma Bridge, it has two decks and is heavily monitored using sensors, including accelerometers, strain gauges, anemometers, weigh-in-motion and temperature sensors... © MINGHONG/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
- ST ANTHONY'S FALLS I-35 BRIDGE, MINNEAPOLIS, USA The St. Anthony's Falls Bridge, the new I-35 bridge that replaced the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis in 2007, has an embedded early warning system made up of 323 networked sensors—wire and fiber optic strain and displacement gauges, accelerometers, potentiometers, and corrosion sensors... © MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
- THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE, CALIFORNIA, USA The Golden Gate Bridge spans the opening of San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. The San Andreas Fault runs close by, and the area is susceptible to major earthquakes. While the Golden Gate Bridge does not have an overall sensor-based health monitoring system like the new I-35 Anthony Falls Bridge in Minneapolis, it does have earthquake sensors... © ANITA DIKINME/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
- GI-LU CABLE STAY BRIDGE, TAIWAN The Gi-Lu Cable-Stay Bridge in Taiwan has wireless sensors and accelerometers that monitor its structural health. It spans the Juo Sheui, the longest river in Taiwan, and features a single concrete pylon rising 190 feet (58 meters) above the deck supporting 68 steel cables... © C.H. LOH, NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY AND JEROME LYNCH, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE, NEW YORK, USA The Brooklyn Bridge, opened to traffic in 1883, is one of New York City's iconic bridges and connects lower Manhattan to Brooklyn. The 126-year-old bridge now has fiber optic sensors that measure displacement and temperature, says Bojidar Yanev, executive director of bridge inspection and bridge management, New York City Department of Transportation... © BOJIDAR YANEV, NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
