Development of a Bridge Safety Information System for the Saylorville Reservoir Bridge

In 2006, a bridge safety issue was brought to the attention of the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding the response of the Saylorville Reservoir Bridge during a high wind event. Although stop-gap measures were put into place, the current knowledge of the performance of the bridge during high wind events was incomplete. Therefore, it was determined that the Saylorville Reservoir Bridge near Polk City, Iowa could further benefit from an information management system to investigate the structural performance of the structure and the potential for safety risks. The monitoring system that was in place at the Saylorville Reservoir Bridge monitors wind data and strain data separately and, through a wireless data connection, uploads this information to a webserver and a website created for the bridge. In addition, the system is programmed to send alert messages to safety personnel when wind speeds reach the predetermined threshold of 50 mph or greater. Once an alert is received, safety personnel determine if it necessary to close the bridge until wind speeds diminish. However, there was no input from the structural monitoring side of the system into the alert to provide safety personnel or engineers with information pertaining to the response of the bridge to the high winds. Therefore, development of an autonomous bridge safety monitoring and alert system for the Saylorville Reservoir Bridge would 1) provide quantitative information regarding any correlation between high wind events and excessive bridge movement, 2) result in considerable savings in manpower and cost by eliminating the need for local authorities to physically close the bridge, 3) eliminate the exposure of local authorities to potential unsafe conditions to close the bridge, and 4) allow for the safe and efficient closing of the bridge to facilitate safer driving conditions on the bridge for motorists.