A bridge too far?

Unfortunately, there were dozens of fatalities in the incident. It is important to reflect on what we as a maintenance community can learn from this incident.

Who did it?

It is 'human nature', when such disasters occur, to immediately ask who is to blame. Is it the architect-engineer Riccardo Morandi, who made a mistake when designing the bridge? Is it the construction company that may have made mistakes in the construction? Is it the operator of the motorway, who failed to maintain the bridge properly? Is it the Italian government that does not provide sufficient funds? Is it Europe that imposes budget measures? Or is it the road users, who, with more and heavier vehicles, have put considerably more strain on the bridge than was originally anticipated?  Or was the storm at the time of the collapse an 'Act of God', as English speakers call a case of force majeure? I do not dare to judge. But one thing is clear: the Morandi Bridge is not an isolated case...

In recent years, there have been regular problems with the Italian road infrastructure: in July 2014, a span of the Petrulla viaduct on state highway 626 collapsed, in October 2016, a viaduct in Annone collapsed, in April 2017, a span of the Tangenziale in Cuneo collapsed. According to the CNR - Institute of Construction Technology, ten thousand bridges in Italy have exceeded their design life. The cost of repairing them exceeds the cost of demolition and new construction, and calls for a EUR 16 billion Marshall Plan to renew Italy's bridge infrastructure. However, it is not only in Italy that we should be concerned about the state of the bridges. 

In our regions too

In France, a report revealed that a third of the 12,000 bridges need to be repaired. 800 bridges are in such poor condition that they may eventually collapse and it is now being considered to ban them from being used for (lorry) traffic. When inspection reveals the first signs of degradation, a bridge is on average not repaired until 22 years later.  The French Ministry of Transport admits that too few resources have been devoted to the maintenance of bridges and roads in recent years and is raising the budget substantially in the years ahead. Wallonia has about 5000 bridges and viaducts, which are subject to a visual inspection every 3 years. Currently, there are about 50 bridges with very significant defects. Dutch Minister Van Nieuwenhuizen also had to acknowledge that the Netherlands is facing 'a fairly large task': 80 old bridges and tunnels are in need of refurbishment. 

Inspection and priority lists

The Flemish Region manages 2,618 bridges and spans of more than 5 metres. On the basis of a List of Priority Works of Art, it monitors which bridges are in urgent need of repair or replacement. 28 of the bridges on this list are under increased scrutiny, but would not pose a risk to road safety.  The question is to what extent these priority lists are sufficiently reliable.  The Morandi viaduct was closely and frequently monitored with 'all modern techniques'.  The fact that the bridge nevertheless collapsed may indicate that the monitoring and inspection systems are not sufficient to detect all possible problems or that there may be failure mechanisms that are not yet being monitored. 

Infrastructure and Asset Management

In my opinion, it is high time that our throw-away society deals with maintenance much more consciously. When new infrastructure is built, not only should the lowest cost be considered, but also the required maintenance and the expected life span should be included in the investment decision. Our governments and infrastructure managers should be required to make long-term plans for the necessary maintenance and replacements. The budgets for necessary maintenance should not be cut back. Or do you think that postponing maintenance makes it cheaper? There must be a clear framework of what risks are or are not acceptable, both financially and in terms of safety. In short, there must be a policy framework that ensures that public infrastructure is managed optimally, so that no bridges have to collapse before budgets are released. There is even a name and a standard for such a framework: Asset Management and ISO 55000.  
"Autostrade earned billions of euros from the motorway through tolls, but did not use that money for what it was intended: maintenance," said Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini shortly after the Morandi Bridge disaster. Mandatory asset management, a bridge too far?  I do not think so!

Wim Vancauwenberghe
Maintenance Evangelist

PS: Asset Management is not only very relevant and valuable for infrastructure managers, but also for industrial companies. That is why it is one of the focal points during the Euromaintenance 4.0 conference in Antwerp. All aspects of modern AM are discussed in various workshops and 2 parallel tracks. More at www.euromaintenance.org.