ENGINEERS URGE BRIDGE ‘HEALTH’ CHECKS

>> A bridge that collapsed in the Italian port city of Genoa with at least 38 people reported dead has raised the alarm about ageing bridges in Thailand that need to be monitored and maintained regularly.

The collapse of the Morandi viaduct serves as a lesson for Thailand to take precautions to prevent any similar incidents happening here, the Council of Engineers (COE) says.

COE secretary-general Amorn Pimanmas said the bridge collapse in Italy has prompted concerns over ageing bridges around the world, including Thailand.

Factors contributing to a bridge collapse include design flaws, faulty construction, degradation and corrosion of materials used in construction, massive loads from vehicles passing over them and natural causes such as earthquakes and strong winds.

In terms of engineering, a bridge collapse can be prevented by structural health monitoring — a system to regularly monitor the health of bridge structures in the same way as people get their health checked at regular intervals, Mr Amorn said. No details were available on how often bridges are given such checks in Thailand.

Here, many bridge collapse incidents have been found to occur during construction because systems put in place to support structures as they are being built and scaffolding were not strong enough, he said.

The Morandi viaduct was completed in 1967 and has been riddled with structural problems for decades, leading to expensive maintenance and criticism from engineering experts, it was reported.

The bridge, which forms part of a toll motorway linking the port city of Genoa with southern France, collapsed in torrential rain last Tuesday, sending dozens of vehicles crashing onto a riverbed, a railway and two warehouses.

The government blamed the operator of the viaduct for Tuesday’s collapse, and threatened to strip the firm of its contracts.