A network of sensors installed on hundreds of bridges across Greece is providing real-time monitoring of structural conditions, recording daily data on loads and potential deformations as authorities confront the aging state of critical infrastructure.
The system, called “Smart Bridges,” was developed by the Technical Chamber of Greece with funding from the Recovery Fund and currently monitors 271 bridges, including 171 road bridges and 100 railway bridges.
Among them is a bridge on the Axioupoli-Goumenissa national road in Kilkis, described as old and in poor condition after years without maintenance. Over the past three months, it has carried loads exceeding its intended weight more than 1,000 times.
A bridge carrying Karamanlis Avenue over a railway line in Larissa has also experienced significant loading more than 2,000 times during the same period. Chamber president Giorgos Stasinos called the project “a breakthrough in the country’s safety” and “the most modern infrastructure monitoring project in Greece.”
