After Tretten bro in Øyer collapsed, bridge safety is something many people are concerned about. Innlandet County Council now wants to find out more about how bridges are affected by traffic. Smart Sensor Systems is a supplier in the research project, and is now installing sensors on three bridges.

The sensors will record pressure and tension in the bridge materials during traffic, and will be installed on Flisa bridge in Åsnes, Brandval suspension bridge in Kongsvinger and Norderåa bridge in Elverum, in the period 17 - 21 September.

News in the newspapers Glåmdalen and Østlendingen

The research project is mentioned in two news items in both the newspaper Glåmdalen and Østlendingen in similar news items.

Read the news in the newspapers Glåmdalen and Østlendingen here (behind a paywall):
Flisa bridge, Brandval bridge | Installing sensors on two local bridges (glomdalen.no)
Traffic, Transportation | Researching how bridges in Elverum and Åsnes are affected by traffic (ostlendingen.no)

Anne Ingeborg Lilleåsen Nerstad, unit manager for bridges in Innlandet county municipality, tells Østrlendingen that it is an important job being done.

- Information and figures we get through this project can be very useful to have when repairing and building new bridges in the future. We have selected bridges we already know a lot about, so we can gain new insight by measuring changes, says Lilleåsen Nerstad.

Three bridges built in different materials

The bridges being researched are built in different materials. Flisa bridge is the only wooden bridge. Norderåa bridge is made of steel and concrete, while the bridge at Brandval is a steel suspension bridge.

- It is an important project that Innlandet county council has started. We are experiencing great demand for monitoring bridges in these times of extreme weather. Monitoring of infrastructure 24/7 is becoming more and more relevant for public safety, and smart sensors are a preventive and useful tool, also for assessing the need for maintenance, says Heiberg.

For questions contact:
General manager Halvor Heiberg at Smart Sensor Systems, tel: 90 11 29 35

Photo at the top, taken by Sverre Viggen in Østlendingen. Here, Joakim Hellum, manager of project development at Smart Sensor Systems, works to install sensors on the Flisa bridge, and has to go up high in a lift to carry out the job.

We use a solar panel as an additional source of energy to drive the iBridge, a smart sensor-based system, which is placed in the box next to it.

Flisa bridge in Åsnes is a wooden bridge that is now continuously monitored using measuring equipment from Smart Sensor Systems. Photo: Sverre Viggen/Østlendingen

Traffic over the Flisa bridge was diverted during the installation of sensors on 17 September. Photo: Sverre Viggen/Østlendingen