Upgrade & Retrofit of Existing Infrastructure & How it Contributes to Sustainability to Extend the Service Life of Structures

We live in a world of ultimately limited resources and as engineers we are responsible for the most efficient use of those resources. The needs of the societies we serve change and our infrastructure is under constant pressure to adapt to new requirements. Many of these demands are about capacity and drive a desire to replace existing structures with bigger and seemingly better designs. And whereas it's always nice to start with a clean sheet when preparing a design it is an obligation upon us engineers to make the most effective use of what is already there. Only in this way can we start to tackle the sustainability challenge brought upon us by the climate emergency. There are many ways that existing infrastructure can be used and repurposed so that the changing demands can be met.

The keynote paper will address the way in which existing bridge infrastructure has been adapted and expanded to meet the requirements of greater structural capacity.