Description
The aging of structures and infrastructures in Italy highlights the necessity of procedures to assess their safety conditions and life-cycle performance. Very often, the costs associated with the repair and maintenance operations needed for all infrastructures overcome the available budget of managing bodies. It is thus necessary to set up and use prioritization methodologies. Within this framework, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is increasingly recognized as a crucial tool to deepen our understanding of the structural behavior of existing bridges. This paper deals with the activities carried out on the "Ponte Nuovo del Popolo" bridge, situated in the city center of Verona, Italy. The bridge exhibited an extensive damage pattern, primarily affecting the main reinforced concrete beams, posing some very important questions about its structural safety. Following the structural verifications, SHM was employed as a tool to keep the structure in service and assess the operational conditions while planning and designing the necessary repair work. The SHM system was installed in 2012, immediately after the structural verification, and remained operational until 2022. Concurrently, restoration works started in 2021. This study presents a comprehensive overview of the bridge deterioration, the structural verification process, and the use of SHM to guide the restoration interventions, emphasizing the integral role played by SHM in enhancing the overall understanding and management of aging infrastructure.
