Preparatory documents for the Workshop

• Workshop announcement
• Workshop announcement (in Japanese)

Introduction

During the Workshop, TC 4.2 introduced its activities for this cycle and information and experiences associated with inspection, management and rehabilitation of road bridges in different countries were presented and discussed. In conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the maintenance and management of cable supported bridges in Japan and other countries were also presented and discussed. This was a valuable opportunity to exchange practical information and experience with experts in inspection, management, and rehabilitation of road bridges from around the world.

There were more than 150 participants to the workshop on site including around 20 participants from overseas from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Malaysia, South Korea, Switzerland, Spain, and USA. 

Main Topics

• Inspection and management of road bridges in various countries
• Rehabilitation techniques for road bridges in various countries
• Maintenance and management of cable supported bridges in Japan and abroad

Technical conclusion of the Workshop

This workshop was held with simultaneous interpretation between English and Japanese.

In Session 1, outputs by Technical Committee 4.2 "Bridges" based on 2020-2023 cycle were presented, group leaders from Technical Committee 4.2 presented their future expectations based on their work to the next cycle 2024-2027.

In Session 2, it was confirmed that inspection and management of PC tendons is one of big issues for high income countries, however it will also be a big issue for low- and middle-income countries. Since next cycle includes this issue, it will be expected to collect and share useful information in the next cycle.

In Session 3, bridge condition, inspection system as well as management in different countries were presented. It was confirmed that bridge condition is different from country to country, so it is good to select their won bridge inspection system based on country’s situation as well as traffic condition. 

Finally, in Session 4, it was discussed about the maintenance of cable supported bridges in different countries, it was concluded that special attention is inevitable to cable supported bridges.