Ready for inspection!

In addition to new constructions, the maintenance of existing structures must also be planned. For bridge structures, regular inspections to assess their condition are anchored in guidelines. Thomas Lorenz and his team have been conducting bridge inspections for many years. These are generally carried out as visual inspections. If necessary, material samples are taken, laboratory tests are ordered, and renovation proposals are developed, planned, and their implementation supervised. It can even happen that access to the structure must first be created. This was the case with a prestressed hollow box girder structure, where an access opening had to be created beforehand using core drilling. Often, investigations must also be carried out at night, requiring traffic and track closures as well as the ordering of special inspection vehicles. “Exciting work for young and old that is also fun,” says structural engineer Gernot Lechner. He is right, as can be seen in the following images.