Greece to upgrade its infrastructure with “Smart Bridges”

Infrastructure and Transport ministry has launched the large project “Smart Bridges”to upgrade the relevant infrastructure network across Greece.

The project is in the final stretch and thus in a sector that, according to all the experiences of the previous years, is suffering: the monitoring and maintenance of public infrastructure.

According to state-run news agency amna, “Smart Bridges” are an action foreseen in the Digital Transformation Book 2020 – 2025 of the Ministry of Digital Governance, which captures the guiding principles, the architectural design of the systems, the strategic axes of intervention, the governance and implementation model and the set of horizontal and vertical interventions that will implement the digital transformation of Greek society and economy with an emphasis on implementation and projects and not just on a theoretical approach.

Through this action, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport is launching a decisive step to strengthen the safety of bridges in Greece, especially the railway ones, by introducing a modern system for monitoring their condition.

The implementing body of the project is the Technical Chamber of Greece (T.E.E.).

The project concerns the “smart” provision of bridge maintenance services in Greece.

The project requires the supply and installation of special load measuring sensors / optical fibers that will record the displacement of the bridges in real time using modern technological methods.

This information will be processed through special algorithms that will calculate the strength of the bridges. The project will be accompanied by relevant studies by specialized engineers who will document and scientifically monitor the results.

According to the decision by Infrastructure Minister of Kostas Karamanlis, the implementation of the investment should be completed by December 31, 2025.

The TEE has already completed the consultation with competent and interested bodies and incorporates observations and notes, as this is an innovative project for Greece, so that in the coming weeks the project will be announced and there will be a contractor in early 2023.

As mentioned in the TEE documents for the consultation, the subject of the project is the primary control of the techniques and the design of the instrumental monitoring as well as the Internet of Things (IoT) system, the secondary control of the bridges through appropriate modeling of the techniques at the pre-study level, the creation of a “Smart Bridges” Digital Repository and Platform, the procurement/installation in place and operation of the Real Time Structural Health Monitoring (RTSHM) Systems, the carrying out of non-destructive loading on the bridges and the updating of studies, the pilot implementation of the systems and the instrumental structural monitoring of the techniques and productive/guaranteed operation of the systems.

Based on the observations submitted and the discussion on them with the competent bodies, the TEE proceeds with the formulation of the final Tender Documents. In the National Recovery Plan “Greece 2.0” the project for “smart” bridges is also included as an action and its funding has already been approved. The invitation issued for consultation by the TEE had a budget of 156,215,200.00 Euros (value: 125,980,000.00 Euros and VAT: 30,235,200.00 Euros).

Also, it is worth mentioning that relatively recently the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Giorgos. Karagiannis, announced the establishment for the first time of an Administrative Authority for Bridges. The Authority will supervise and control the safety of bridges throughout the territory, a responsibility that coincides with the scope of the “Smart Bridges” project, as to date the responsibilities are confused in many cases. In any case, a key issue is the new procedures for the inspection and maintenance of the country’s bridges, with a span of more than 6 meters.

According to TEE president Giorgos Stasinos, who spoke to APE-MBE, the largest percentage of the country’s bridges were built in the 1950s to the 1980s. The absence of maintenance measures, the aging of technical parts, small design loads combined with the uncontrolled passage of increasingly heavier vehicles, extreme environmental phenomena due to climate change are some of the factors that require vigilance. It is therefore clear that overall supervision is required and indeed electronic, based on modern procedures and direct assessment methodologies (Smart Assessment Procedures or “SAP”).

According to the TEE, with this project that is now being planned and the implementation will begin shortly, the aim is to provide preventive maintenance services for bridges of OSE S.A. and ERGOSE S.A. in various regions of the country, using innovative technologies such as the Internet of Things (IOT). The information related to the state of the