Making Bridges Sustainable

Lack of incentives mainly explains why the implementation of novel methods and technologies in bridge engineering practice is generally postponed by the engineering community despite the urgent need to advance also bridge engineering to meet the objectives of sustainability. Novel engineering methods and technologies are presented in this paper to extend the service duration of existing bridges while meeting the requirements of modern use. Accurate determination of bridge behavior using data from in-situ measurements and longterm monitoring of traffic action effects allow to verify realistically the structural and fatigue safety of bridges. If interventions are necessary, a targeted use of advanced high-performance materials such as UHPFRC allows to rehabilitate and strengthen effectively reinforced concrete bridges. This approach follows the principle of sustainability to preserve material resources and their grey energy that are already in use, thereby limiting greenhouse gas emissions to a minimum when requalifying and adapting existing bridges to future use