Case study
Beyond construction: geospatially enabled BIM To replace a complex rail bridge HNTB put ArcGIS GeoBIM to the test, envisioning a future where live sensor data could be harnessed to monitor the existing bridge during critical construction periods
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he Walk Bridge in Norwalk, Connecticut, carries four tracks of the Metro-North Railroad line over the Norwalk River. But this swing bridge, which currently swivels to accommodate boat traffic, was built in 1896 and has outlasted its intended life-span, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT). It is being replaced by a vertical lift bridge that will ascend and descend to let ships pass through. And the entire bridge replacement project will be done while maintaining railroad traffic over the existing bridge — a complex undertaking, to say the least. Infrastructure solutions firm Esri and
partner HNTB has been working on the replacement design for Walk Bridge for several years. One of the challenges the team has faced is connecting disparate data and systems during the design process. After becoming an early adopter of Esri’s new ArcGIS GeoBIM on another project, leaders at HNTB realised that the solution could be used to quickly connect geospatial and BIM data on the Walk Bridge project. Not only that, but by incorporating ArcGIS Velocity to monitor live sensor data on the existing bridge during key parts of the construction process, the team recognised that ArcGIS GeoBIM could be useful well beyond the design and construction phases of the
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1 project. It could help with operations and maintenance on the new bridge as well. “ArcGIS GeoBIM isn’t just a design tool; it’s something that owners and operators need to be thinking about using as part of their digital twin framework,” said Darin Welch, associate vice president for geospatial and virtual engagement solutions at HNTB’s Technology Solutions Centre. “If they see the value in monitoring the tilt, movement, and temperature of the existing bridge during construction, then it’s a logical next step to use this technology to monitor bridge conditions during normal operations.”
A breath of fresh air For HNTB, bridge work is its bread and butter—and has been since the company was founded more than 100 years ago. But the transportation-focused consult-
1 Together, ArcGIS GeoBIM and ArcGIS Velocity could be used in the new Walk Bridge’s machine rooms to monitor critical metrics, such as temperature and tilt, well after construction 2 3D cylinders represent sensors that the existing Walk Bridge already has. A dashboard, made with ArcGIS Dashboards, shows the bridge’s tilt, which is being monitored using ArcGIS Velocity
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January / February 2022
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03/02/2022 15:43
