To promote the modernization of bridge management in France, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister Delegate for Transport, recently announced the winners of the "Connected Bridges" call for projects, during a visit to the Millau Viaduct.
Bridges are the neuralgic points of road networks, and their closure can disrupt an entire region. However, these structures are aging (wear and tear, climatic aggression), and it is vital to ensure that they are in good condition, otherwise the risks to public safety can be significant: several bridge collapses in recent years, in France (Mirepoix-sur-Tarn on November 18, 2019) and abroad (Genoa on August 14, 2018), have tragically reminded us of this.
In France, there are :
- Around 24,000 state-owned bridges, of which 12,000 are managed directly by the state and 12,000 are on the concession network;
- Between 100,000 and 120,000 bridges belonging to the Départements ;
- Between 80,000 and 120,000 bridges belonging to communes and groups of communes.
Innovation should enable the development of new tools to enhance bridge monitoring and maintenance. The latest developments in instrumentation, telecommunications, data processing and artificial intelligence offer significant potential to complement traditional visual inspection methods.
As part of the France Recovery Plan, the French government launched a call for projects (AAP), with €4 million in funding, to develop new methods and tools for bridge maintenance, making it safer, more efficient and less costly. The call for projects was open to companies, which could be partners in local authority projects.
During a visit to the Millau Viaduct on April 23, 2021, the Minister announced the 17 winners, out of 39 applications received, for an overall investment budget of €8m and thus covering the diversity of the objectives of the call for projects.
The government has also decided to allocate €40 million from the France Stimulus Plan to a vast program to survey and assess communal engineering structures, which will enable a "health book" of bridges to be drawn up.
Surveys and field visits are due to start this autumn, and will involve private engineering and design firms.
The "connected bridges" diagnostic approach and call for projects are part of the engineering services offered by the French National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (ANCT) to local authorities. Its implementation has been entrusted to Cerema, the French government agency responsible for public expertise on engineering structures.
The list of the 17 winners of the Connected Bridges call for projects is now available. here.