Study Shows North American, African Bridges Most at Risk; Scientists Propose Satellite Monitoring to Prevent Failures
By: Laurie Fickman
A scientist at the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering is helping reveal the world’s weakest bridges — and how to fix them before it’s too late.
In a study of 744 bridges across the globe published in Nature Communications, Pietro Milillo and an international team found that structures in North America are in the poorest condition, followed by those in Africa. Their solution could change how infrastructure is protected worldwide: monitoring bridge stability from space to detect problems before they become disasters.
“Our research shows that spaceborne radar monitoring could provide regular oversight for more than 60 percent of the world’s long-span bridges,” said Milillo, co-author of the study and an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UH.
“By integrating satellite data into risk frameworks, we can significantly lower the number of bridges classified as high-risk, especially in regions where installing traditional sensors is too costly,” he said.
Continue reading at Cullen College of Engineering.
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