The conference, hosted on 14th April 2023 at the Le Plaza Hotel in Brussels, is about bridge maintenance and safety in Europe and aims to put forward issues around engineering work maintenance in the respect of environment, and with an eye on the decrease of carbon footprint, as well as the training of new professionals in the sector.
 
With keynote speeches by Christian Tridon (FIEC) and Philip Crampton (FIEC President), Sandra Freeman (Journalist) and MEP Dominique Riquet (member of the EP Transport Committee), the event is organised in 3 Roundtables: inspection and management, the environmental impacts of bridges and new professions for bridge management, respectively.
 
Bridges are essential elements of communication routes, whether road or rail. It is essential to keep them in good working state. The maintenance of a bridge always starts with the perfect knowledge of its condition. The diagnosis allows to establish the corrective measures. The monitoring and management methods are diverse. The conference will present a selection of original examples implemented in some European countries, and will table a debate covering also policies related to the EU Green Deal, carbon neutrality, the reconstruction, etc.

Programme:

8:00am Participants and Exhibitors Welcome

9:00am Opening and presentation of the conference

Christian Tridon (FIEC) with Sandra Freeman (Journalist)

Philip Crampton (President of FIEC) and Dominique Riquet (Member of the European Parliament, member of the Transport Committee)

9:30am 1st Roundtable - Bridge Inspection and Management

• Bridges are essential elements of communication routes, whether road or rail. It is essential to keep them in good working state. The maintenance of a bridge always starts with the perfect knowledge of its condition. The diagnosis allows to establish the corrective measures. The monitoring and management methods are diverse. We will present some original examples implemented in some European countries.

11:00am Coffee break, exchanges with exhibiting companies

11:30am Intervention of PIARC

11:50am 2nd Roundtable - Environmental impacts of bridges

• The Green Deal and the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050, in particular in the field of bridge maintenance. Poorly maintained bridges, due to the traffic disruption caused by their repair or by their reconstruction, are very important sources of energy expenditure and carbon emissions.
• The correct maintenance routine of bridges contributes to energy savings and resource conservation. We will present examples of original approaches, undertaken by managers in some countries, to participate in the goal set for 2050.

1:00pm Lunch on site

2:30pm 3rd Roundtable - New professions for bridge management

• Bridge maintenance, through the monitoring, diagnosis, and study of corrective actions it generates, give rise to new professions. It will be necessary to adapt the current technicians and engineers training.
• Apprenticeships will undoubtedly become the rule. Thanks to the Erasmus-Pro program, young apprentices will be able, to complete their studies abroad. Testimonies from different countries will be presented.
• Training is an essential element to enable this research and the implementation of these techniques. For bridges, it is the assurance of a good management and the durability of the works.

3:30pm The management of emergency bridges, in the context of exceptional disasters

4:00pm Intervention of the European Commission (DG Move)

4:30pm Conclusion

4:45pm End of the conference