Scanning quay walls

The municipality of Amsterdam has a large number of historic bridges and quay walls that require maintenance. These structures are often important links in the urban network and essential to the city’s functioning. Research has shown that a number of these are at the end of their life, so the municipality is putting a lot of effort into monitoring and keeping an eye on the bridges and quay walls. Currently, bridges and quay walls are mainly monitored using the traditional method, with tachymetry and levelling. Due to limited capacity and budget, this is only done on about 10% of the area each year. However, the rest of the area is not without risk and the municipality of Amsterdam considers it necessary to gain insight into the technical condition of the entire area.

Monitoring and maintaining this large number of bridges and quay walls poses a challenge, mainly due to limited capacity and financial resources. To solve this problem, the municipality of Amsterdam launched an innovation competition through an SBIR programme aimed at developing an advanced monitoring method. Iv participated in this competition and presented an innovative approach to scanning quay walls using a 3D scan car on a pontoon, with internal monitoring by multiple scanners. This would be an effective and efficient way of accurately assessing the condition of quay walls.

The programme will improve the safety, accessibility and liveability of Amsterdam. The innovative monitoring method can map the entire area of bridges and quay walls, making the city better prepared for risks and maintenance needs. Implementing this method would significantly increase annual measurement capacity and reduce costs. Moreover, the DREAM method, which enables an optimal balance between infrastructure performance, risk and cost, supports sustainable and effective management of quay walls. All this contributes to a safer and more efficient environment for residents and traffic.