Bridge collapses and grand challenges - Richard Fish

Bridge collapses and Grand Challenges. What are the lessons from the Genoa Bridge collapse?

In this episode there is an interview with Richard Fish, a chartered bridge engineer with extensive experience in the industry.

In the year of a pandemic, understanding risk has become part of our public discourse. Today we try and answer the question: what risk do bridges in the UK face and what are the grand challenges for bridges.

The Morandi motorway bridge in Genoa collapsed on the 14th of August 2018, killing 43 people. The reasons for the collapse are explored as well as the wider lessons from this. As Richard Fish said:

'A big risk is a fact that people become complacent...they say: "this bridge has stood there for decades it's not going to fall down, is it?' and sadly, occasionally things do fall down'

The interview explores what happened with the closure of the Hammersmith Flyover and the Forth Road Bridge. The BOF Grand Challenges are also explored, recently published. The first of the five Grand Challenges is on preventing bridge failures, as the document states:

Polcevera Viaduct, Genoa collapsed on 14th August 2018 making headlines around the world. 43 people lost their lives and the disruption is estimated to have cost the economy around €600 million. Since 2000 there have been 125 bridge collapses worldwide that have claimed at least one life, resulting in 982 fatalities and significant economic loss.

Catastrophic bridge collapses occur too frequently even though, with hindsight and timely investment, most could have been predicted and prevented.

The human, financial and reputational costs of such incidents, which frequently make international news, are unacceptable by any reasonable measure. Can we be more successful in preventing them?

Responsible bridge owners have robust regimes in place to inspect and manage their bridges in line with prevailing good practice and yetcatastrophes are seldom anticipated or, when they are, the risks are underestimated or ignored.

As bridge stocks continue to age, the likelihood and frequency of bridge collapse can only increase, along with the financial and reputational damage. It is therefore crucial that we find better ways of meeting the challenge.

BOF Grand Challenges: http://www.bridgeforum.org/bof/meetings/bof64/Grand%20Challenges%20-%20Bridges%202020.pdf