Bridge maintenance, renovation and management - Research and Development of governmental program in Japan

摘要

The collapse of over-130m suspended roof with casualties of nine people in Sasago Tunnel of one of the major highways near Tokyo in 2012 has led to strong doubts about the current quality and safety of infrastructure, and immediately brought public attention to the issue of infrastructure degradation in Japan. Japanese government decided to invest on research and development for efficient management of infrastructure through implementation of science and advanced technology. The emphasis is placed on bridges. The new research and development (R&D) program named “Infrastructure maintenance, renovation and management” was started in 2014 under the Council of Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI)’s Strategic Innovation Program (SIP). The 5-years program covers various subjects of infrastructure maintenance with key technologies in condition assessment using non-destructive testing, monitoring and robotics; long-term performance prediction of infrastructure, development of durable high-quality of material for repair and replacement, and management of large amount of bridges and other infrastructure data using advanced information and communication technologies (ICT). The program consists of about 60 research projects involving universities, government research institutes and industries. This initiative is expected to prevent further accidents and setting an example for efficient bridge and infrastructure maintenance by reducing the burden of maintenance works and cost. In the lecture, outline and major output of this SIP program are explained.