A fleet of drones to ensure safety on the A22

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – Technology and safety. This is the combination chosen by Autostrada del Brennero to ensure efficiency and safeguard the entire motorway network. This has led the company to adopt a plan to equip its bridges and viaducts with sophisticated sensor systems in order to monitor their condition. The A22 has also acquired a fleet of drones to monitor the condition of the infrastructure, enabling it to identify any critical issues more effectively and at an earlier stage, and thus take action extremely promptly. At the same time, these electronic ‘senses’ can be very useful in managing traffic flow.

Millions of cars and heavy goods vehicles, laden with cargo, travel across bridges and viaducts every year, subjecting the structures to various stresses and often accelerating their wear and tear. Added to this are temperature fluctuations and weather conditions (rain and snow). In this context, taking a preventative approach offers significant advantages: on the one hand, it allows for more effective interventions, capable of extending the lifespan of the structures themselves and adapting them to the loads currently travelling along the motorway; on the other hand, it enables operations to be carried out in such a way as to minimise the impact on road traffic.

Using highly sophisticated sensors, it is possible to detect various types of information, which is then fed into and processed by a single software programme. This ranges from traditional survey stations, which measure displacement, to temperature sensors, dynamic accelerometers that detect the effect of traffic on the bridge structure and seismic accelerometers, right through to hydrometers and sonar for hydraulic monitoring. Systems of this kind have already been installed on two of the A22’s most significant structures: the bridge over the Po and the Colle Isarco viaduct, where it was also decided to create a digital twin of the bridge itself. With the necessary adaptations depending on the context, Autobrennero intends to install similar systems on all its major structures. And whatever the sensors fail to detect is picked up by drones. Thanks to these aerial systems, it is in fact possible to inspect bridges and tunnels in areas that are not easily or readily accessible to humans, thereby checking their condition; but it is also possible, using the images captured by the drone, to monitor and map the stability of slopes and carry out topographical surveys.

However, the use of technology is not limited solely to infrastructure projects but also extends to parking. This need has arisen from the huge volume of goods passing along the A22. More than 10 per cent of Italian exports travel along this motorway, which amounts to over 60 million tonnes of goods. Precisely in light of the large volume of vehicles in transit, the company has decided to participate, as coordinator, in the European CEF-T-2021-Safemobgen call for proposals, putting forward the Pass4Core-Ita-2 project. The aim of the project is to develop a network of safe rest areas for heavy goods vehicles along the Italian TEN-T road network, with these areas to be built to the highest standards of safety, security, quality, connectivity and transparency. In particular, the company’s objective was to certify the ‘Sadobre’, ‘Interporto di Trento Nord’ and ‘Rovereto Sud’ parking areas as ‘Safe & Secure’. Trento and Rovereto have completed the process for the Silver level, whilst work is currently underway for Sadobre (Bronze level). Ensuring that parking areas meet high safety standards has a positive impact on hauliers’ performance, offering a more peaceful stop and, consequently, a calmer and safer journey. And, once again, safety is achieved through digitalisation. In addition to refreshments and comfortable toilet facilities, these areas offer 24-hour assistance, Wi-Fi, charging points, CCTV systems and state-of-the-art access control systems.