Germany’s building a new bridge in Nuremberg in northern Bavaria that may outsmart a variety of maintenance problems and possibly improve safety by allowing remote monitoring of road conditions.
When the 160-meter bridge opens in October, sensors built along the sides and in the roadways will feed engineers information on strain, movements and inclinations of the bridge, as well as temperature, humidity and vehicle pressure. The hope is that it will make it possible to spot wear or maintenance issues before they become critical.
The Digital Autobahn Test Field, as it’s called, is a joint project of the German government and Siemens. Ultimately, it’s hoped, the bridge is only an early step in a system that will use communication between the roads and smart or autonomous cars.
