Goals
Bridges, as an important part of the infrastructure of the state, have indisputable economic, social and, in some cases, cultural importance. In addition, in terms of the costs required not only for their construction but also for ensuring their serviceability for a period exceeding human life, they represent a significant element of public resources. Existing bridges and structures in general thus reflect not only the level of the society in which they were designed and constructed but also the cultural and economic power of the current generations, as they reflect the care for these inherited engineering works. Transport infrastructure represents a large part of national assets in every country. Their operation, maintenance, repairs and restoration represent a considerable part of energy consumption and produce a significant part of environmental burdens. Experts and professionals dealing with bridges must therefore be consistent in all activities related to the design, construction and exploitation of bridges from the initial design, construction works, and maintenance, to the end of its service life. Despite the efforts during design, preparation and construction, as well as the efforts made within the inspection activities, their damage and failures appear during operation. Unfortunately, only in cases in which the situation results into the collapse of structures, sometimes with fatal consequences, such as the well-known collapses of footbridges or bridges, is the public discussion supported by the media environment immediately directed to the issue of bridges.
The pilot year of the Existing Bridges 2025 conference aims to point out the serious situation in connection with the state of existing structures, especially bridges, presenting possible starting points and solutions in individual cases and discussing different approaches and concepts of management, assessment and rehabilitation of bridges or interesting structures. We hereby cordially invite you to a professional-scientific discussion on this topic.