In Italy, more than 50% of bridges are over 50 years old

According to a study by the Politecnico di Milano, more than 18 thousand viaducts require maintenance workzione

NOTA STAMPA - Arzignano (VI) February 15, 2024

The predictive maintenance sector concerning bridges and viaducts is growing sharply in Italy, thanks to the increased investment in infrastructure and to the adoption of new technologies. Tools that are necessary, given that Italy has one of the largest infrastructure and road networks in Europe, yet amongst the most obsolete. A study by Carlo Castiglioni and Alessandro Menghini of the Politecnico di Milano showed that more than 50% of the bridges in Italy are over 50 years old compared to an average in G7 countries of between 20 and 30 years. At least 1,900 bridges, out of the 61,000 observed, would have "very high structural risks," and more than 18,000 viaducts have criticalities and require maintenance work.

Interventions to maintain the country's infrastructure assets are central to ensuring their sustainability over time as well as the efficiency and safety of transportation networks. A properly maintained road system also contributes to the country's competitiveness and is part of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Predictive maintenance: an innovative solution

Predictive maintenance is a tool that maintains infrastructure assets while providing an economic forecast of the resources needed for interventions. It is based on the use of advanced technologies to monitor the health of infrastructure and identify any problems in advance. This approach allows for early intervention, avoiding problems and disruption to traffic, increasing the sustainability of infrastructure for the citizens, with significant savings in cost and time.

Growing investments

Investments in predictive maintenance have grown considerably in recent years. The Italian government has allocated more than 2 billion Euro for the safety of bridges and viaducts, with the aim of increasing the use of innovative technologies. At the same time, predictive maintenance technologies are constantly evolving.

 
Among the main ones are:

• Internet of Things (IoT): smart sensors to monitor the health of infrastructure in real time.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): algorithms for analyzing data and predicting anomalies.
• Drones and robots: systems for visual inspection and maintenance of hard-to-access bridges and viaducts.

Franchetti SpA, an industry leader and listed on the Euronext Growth Milan segment of the Italian Stock Exchange (Ticker BIT: FCH), has been structured for some time to seize the opportunities that the market may offer, both in Italy and abroad, thanks to its team of engineers and 3 suite of proprietary and copyrighted software (Argan©, Pathwork© and Sidecheck©) with a high rate of technology. The software does not replace professionals but is a key support in data collection, processing and analysis stages, bringing out immediate elements of attention. It is very important also in the development of maintenance plans consistent with expenditure budgets, contributing effectively to the sustainability, also from an economic point of view, of management processes.