InSAR for large-scale monitoring of Flemish bridges

January 5, 2024
Category: News

In the vast network of road and railway communications, bridges are much more than simple structures. Vital arteries that unite people, they play a crucial role in our daily interactions.

Because each bridge has its own story to tell, CLS monitors these vital structures to ensure they always symbolize safety, durability and, above all, continuity.

The Flemish government has enlisted our services to detect potential deformations on more than 1,300 bridges, thereby preventing any anomalies.

Infrastructure monitoring is essential to ensure its durability and safety. Bridge movements can have a significant impact on their structural integrity. That’s why accurate, continuous monitoring is crucial.

Interferometric Satellite Aperture Radar (InSAR) data emerges as an invaluable tool, offering site-specific insights with millimetric precision, overcoming the spatial limitations of in situ instrument and promoting a safer and more efficient operational framework. And at the heart of this high-level monitoring is TRE ALTAMIRA, a CLS subsidiary.

“This tool makes it possible to obtain global information on the health status of bridges from space without the need to send personnel on-site.”

Ségolène Duprat

TRE ALTAMIRA’s expertise in InSAR data analysis enables the detection of the slightest movement, providing an in-depth understanding of bridge stability. This proactive vigilance contributes to risk prevention, ensuring the safety of critical infrastructures.

“CLS is a world leader in InSAR technology, for synthetic aperture interferometry. This is a technique based on radar imagery, which estimates ground and structural movements with millimetric precision. One of the main strengths of this technique is its ability to map large areas, such as cities, regions or even countries.”

Eric Henrion