In North America, bridge monitoring relies on permanently installed sensors that monitor a structure’s condition in real-time, measuring strain, displacement, vibration, and temperature between scheduled inspections. This continuous flow of data shows how a bridge performs under traffic loading and environmental exposure, so engineers detect changes in structural integrity well before they turn into safety risks.
Discover Our Bridge Monitoring Services
Sixense North America delivers bridge monitoring as a complete system, from instrument selection and installation through real-time data collection and long-term analysis. The portfolio covers steel, concrete, cable-stayed, tied-arch, and prestressed bridge structures, and it sits inside a wider structural health monitoring practice that also spans tunnels, dams, and buildings. Each program pairs field instrumentation with Sixense’s Beyond Monitoring software platform, so owners get one solution for collecting, visualizing, and acting on bridge condition data.
- Continuous Sensor-Based Bridge Monitoring: Permanent sensor arrays, the foundation of the EverSense bridge SHM solution, capture strain, vibration, displacement, tilt, and temperature at set intervals, tracking how a bridge behaves under traffic loading and environmental exposure over the long-term.
- Real-Time Data Acquisition and Automated Alerts: The Beyond Monitoring platform processes bridge monitoring data in real-time and provides automated alerts by email and text message when a measurement exceeds its threshold.
- Stay-Cable and Prestressed Structure Monitoring: For cable-stayed and prestressed concrete bridges, advanced monitoring technology, delivered through EverScan, detects hidden defects, load redistribution, and premature aging that visual inspections miss, the same approach Sixense used on the Lewis & Clark Bridge in Kentucky.
- Bridge Management System Integration: Monitoring data feeds asset management platforms for inspection scheduling, condition scoring, and maintenance planning, using OSIM-compliant workflows for Canadian bridge owners like the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
Why Choose Sixense for Bridge Monitoring?
20+ Years of Bridge and Infrastructure Monitoring Experience
Sixense North America has monitored bridges across the US and Canada for over 2 decades, on projects that include the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion in Hampton, VA, the Lewis & Clark Bridge in Louisville, KY, and Highway 401 and 409 in Toronto, ON. That field record gives the engineers direct knowledge of how bridge structures respond to live loading, seismic exposure, and environmental stress, the kind of critical, performance-related insight that protects long-term safety.
Integrated Sensor Technologies and the Beyond Monitoring Platform
Unlike programs that treat sensors and software as separate purchases, Sixense runs field instrumentation and the Beyond Monitoring platform as one integrated system. These arrays, including strain gauges, accelerometers, tilt meters, fiber optic sensors, and temperature probes, feed a platform that delivers real-time visualization, automated alerts, trend analysis, and scheduled reports. Engineers configure each instrument layout to match the bridge's geometry and exposure, and that advanced technology lets Sixense measure structural condition continuously without a site visit.
OSIM and NBI Compliance Support for Bridge Owners
Bridge monitoring data supports compliance with OSIM and National Bridge Inventory inspection requirements. In Ontario, the Ontario Structure Inspection Manual mandates inspections every 2 years; in the US, the National Bridge Inventory sets a similar biennial standard. Continuous monitoring data supplements those scheduled inspections with a documented record of structural condition and integrity between visits, providing asset management teams the evidence that helps with reporting, maintenance prioritization, and safety decisions.
From Early Detection to Bridge Maintenance Planning
When structural change shows up early, repairs stay cheaper and bridges stay in service longer. Continuous condition tracking detects those changes as they emerge, because damage compounds over time and repair costs climb as availability drops. The process sets a baseline at installation and logs every deviation against defined thresholds, feeding maintenance and asset management planning while providing owners the documented data they need to schedule repairs at the right time and extend a bridge's service life.
Our Approach to Bridge Monitoring
Sensor Installation and Bridge Monitoring System Design
Sixense engineers design each sensor array around the bridge's material, span type, and exposure. Installation covers strain gauges, accelerometers, displacement sensors, tilt meters, fiber optic sensors, and environmental probes, placed at critical load paths, expansion joints, bearings, and cable anchorages. The work begins with a site assessment, using the structure's risk profile to decide where stress and strain concentrate and which technology fits.
Continuous Data Acquisition and Transmission
Once the instruments are live, data acquisition systems collect bridge measurements at intervals from seconds to hours, set each time by the parameter being tracked and the structure's risk classification. Wired and wireless transmission feed the data to the Beyond Monitoring platform in real-time, where automated validation filters out anomalies. Sixense engineers monitor condition remotely and respond to verified movement or displacement as it happens, so a remote bridge gets the same oversight as one beside the office, an advantage on dispersed infrastructure.
Analysis, Alerts, and Bridge Condition Reporting
Analysis turns raw bridge data into decisions. By comparing live readings against the baseline, Sixense engineers detect deviations in strain, displacement, or vibration frequency before they show up as visible damage. When a reading crosses its threshold, the platform fires an automated alert by email and text; periodic reports then provide a record that documents condition changes, flags emerging issues, and recommends maintenance for critical, health-related findings that affect performance.
Contact Sixense for Bridge Monitoring Today!
Aging bridges need more than a scheduled inspection every 2 years. Sixense North America provides bridge monitoring programs for highway bridges, cable-stayed structures, and other critical infrastructure across the US and Canada, the same instrumentation and data work that kept watch on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion. Contact the team to scope a monitoring solution that keeps your bridges safe and your project on schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bridge Monitoring
What Is Bridge Monitoring?
Bridge monitoring uses permanently installed sensors that monitor a bridge’s structural condition over time. These instruments, including strain gauges, accelerometers, and displacement sensors, produce continuous data on how the structure responds to traffic loading and temperature shifts. When the readings move beyond their baseline, the system flags potential damage, often before a visual inspection would detect it.
Which Bridge Types Require Monitoring Systems?
Bridge monitoring applies to highway bridges, cable-stayed bridges, prestressed concrete bridges, suspension bridges, and movable bridges. Any bridge exposed to heavy traffic, dynamic load, seismic risk, or age benefits from continuous performance tracking, and it’s most critical on structures where a failure would put public safety and key infrastructure at risk. Cable-stayed and prestressed spans need the most advanced monitoring, because the sensors used there must catch hidden defects in tendons and anchorages that never show on the deck.
What Sensors Are Used in Bridge Monitoring?
Common bridge monitoring sensors include strain gauges, accelerometers, tilt meters, fiber optic sensors, displacement sensors, temperature probes, and corrosion sensors. Which technology gets used depends on the bridge type, span length, material, and the parameters engineers need to measure, from vibration and stress to slow, long-term movement. On most projects these instruments run as one system feeding a single data platform.
How Does a Bridge Monitoring System Detect Damage Early?
A bridge monitoring system detects damage early by comparing live readings against a baseline set at installation. Instruments monitor strain, vibration frequency, and movement in real-time, and automated analysis flags any deviation beyond a defined threshold. When that happens, the platform alerts the team by email and text, so they can investigate before a small change becomes a threat to structural integrity or public safety.
What Is the Difference Between Bridge Monitoring and Periodic Inspection?
Periodic inspection captures a bridge’s condition at scheduled intervals, while bridge monitoring runs continuous, sensor-based tracking between those visits. Inspections put a trained eye on the structure; monitoring catches the events and gradual changes that happen between inspections, when no one is on site. The 2 methods work well together, because continuous data helps inspectors target what to check and confirms findings about the structure’s health over time.
How Does OSIM Compliance Relate to Bridge Monitoring?
OSIM, the Ontario Structure Inspection Manual, requires bridge inspections every 2 years across Ontario using the Bridge Condition Index. Bridge monitoring supports that requirement by providing continuous sensor data between scheduled inspections, giving owners documented evidence of condition changes as they appear. For asset management teams, new structural issues surface earlier, infrastructure safety improves, and OSIM reporting rests on measured data instead of a single biennial snapshot.