121 France Inspects and Maps 45,000 Bridges to Prioritize Repairs Governments across Europe are rushing to modernize aging bridges—triggered by decrepit infrastructure conditions and increased instances of collapse linked to overloading heavy goods vehicles or extreme weather conditions. France faces a unique challenge, because a large proportion of its bridges had to be reconstructed after World War II and are coming due for major repairs or replacement at the same time. After a study found a third of bridges in France might require repairs, the French government launched its National Bridges Program. Leading the effort is the Centre for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility and Urban Planning, or Cerema. The agency’s first step was to identify most of the country’s municipal bridges and determine their condition, collecting data and mapping results with GIS technology. “We’ve been dramatically reminded of the extreme sensitivity of road bridges,” said Thomas Plantier, director of digital transformation at Cerema. “With the 2018 collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, the French government recognized the need to survey and assess the condition of France’s bridges.” The assessment task met with three major obstacles. First, the country has more than 36,000 road authorities, including many smaller municipalities, towns, and villages with limited financial and technical resources. Second, the sheer number of bridges that needed evaluation was staggering, with estimates of as many as 100,000. Third, the French government didn’t have an inspection program in place to determine the condition of local bridges. Building and Operating Modern Infrastructure
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