Sensor Technology Protects New Minneapolis Bridge

Early this morning, the new Minneapolis bridge on interstate 35W opened. From opposite directions, two fleets of emergency responders led motorists in a symbolic drive across the Mississippi. But what you can’t see in this CNN video is the network of electronic sensors that will monitor the bridge, allowing engineers to detect damage from future wear and prevent catastrophes like the bridge’s collapse that killed 13 people and injured 145 last August.

CNN reports: “Within the concrete of the new bridge are embedded 323 sensors that will generate a record of how it handles the stresses and strains of traffic and Minnesota’s harsh climate. The data will help engineers maintain the bridge and advance the art of bridge design.”

Reece Rushing covered the promise of  monitoring technology earlier this year on Science Progress in a piece on “Catching Crumbling Infrastructure.” He warned:

Before it collapsed, the Minneapolis bridge was one of more than 70,000 bridges nationwide declared by the Department of Transportation to be structurally deficient. One in three urban bridges fall into this category.

Replicating the design and monitoring elements that now protect the I-35W bridge will pave the way to a safer infrastructure for the entire country.

Tags: engineering, national security

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