Re:Italy bridge: Genoa motorway collapse kills at least 22
by cptskippy on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @08:23AM
(#17757221)
The average lifespan of a bridge is about 70 years.
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Re:Italy bridge: Genoa motorway collapse kills at least 22
by gokhan on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @08:28AM
(#17757255)
And requires no maintenance?
Re:Italy bridge: Genoa motorway collapse kills at least 22
by cptskippy on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @09:50AM
(#17757853)
They definitely require routine maintenance and inspection.
The Nondestructive Testing article I linked to in another comment said "significant environmental damage requiring repair typically occurs before the average bridge reaches mid-life."
Re:Italy bridge: Genoa motorway collapse kills at least 22
by SamUK96 on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @08:30AM
(#17757268)
It would be very interesting to know how bridge metrics (length, load specification, etc.) relate the longevity. Of course, some bridges last for centuries, but some last for decades. This is an order of magnitude!
Re:Italy bridge: Genoa motorway collapse kills at least 22
by Piskvorrr on Monday August 20, 2018 @06:26AM
(#17798836)
Spoiler: they don't, yet they do, Theseus' ship-style. For all the centuries-old bridges still in use around here, there's only a few bits and pieces left from the original, the rest has been replaced multiple times over as a part of maintenance.
The difference here is probably maintainability: for a stone arch design, you can prop it up for safety, replace a few stones, and voila, like new. For a cable-stayed and/or concrete design...not really. In other words, the bridges that have "lasted for centuries" have hot-swappable parts ;)
Re:Italy bridge: Genoa motorway collapse kills at least 22
by arethuza on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @08:58AM
(#17757458)
Isn't that just a function of when most highway construction took place in Europe and the US?
Re:Italy bridge: Genoa motorway collapse kills at least 22
by cptskippy on Tuesday August 14, 2018 @09:45AM
(#17757800)
Lifespan, not age. Most bridges where built after 1945 with a life expectancy between 70-75 years.
https://www.nde-ed.org/AboutNDT/SelectedApplications/Bridge_...