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Bridges are built to fulfil different roles depending on the needs of the site. One of the most important role is to provide easy and non-life-threating access to different areas of community interest. Over the period of their operation, structures suffer various degradations whose extension may endanger the integrity of the construction, or the changing needs of the users. This raises the problem of finding the most efficient methods of removing the structure from use and returning the land to other uses adapted to the period needs. The structure to which we have turned our attention in this article is located in Bucharest. It is represented by an overpass built in a frame solution with inclined pillars, having the shape of the letter ”V”. The construction material consists mainly of monolithic cast reinforced concrete. The present article presents a modern methodology for the demolition of the reinforced concrete overpass in discussion, through the progressive dismantling of the component construction elements. This method has many advantages, particularly in terms of the possibility of recycling the construction materials used and in terms of minimising traffic congestion on the railway.

It is now well evidenced that wildlife crossing structures paired with exclusion fencing reduce wildlife vehicles collisions while facilitating wildlife connectivity across roadways. Managing animal mortality and subpopulation connectivity is crucial to successful species and landscape stewardship. Highway mitigation projects are large economic investments that remain on the landscape for many decades. Governments and planning agents thus strive to balance cost and benefit to build cost-effective structures with the greatest positive impact on local wildlife and motorists. Ideal dimensions of overpasses and underpasses vary by species, but scientists generally suggest that overpasses for large mammals should be approximately 50 m wide. Optimal width also depends on structure length, with longer structures requiring additional width. Accordingly, experts have suggested a width to length ratio of 0.8. We sought to assess how these recommendations manifested in practice—where agencies use this information to design and build structures while also balancing cost and logistical challenges—and the degree to which built structures conform to current recommendations. We identified 120 wildlife overpasses across the world that were constructed to reduce the negative impacts of roads. Using a novel measurement technique, we analyzed the dimensions of these 120 overpasses located in North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The average width of the wildlife overpasses was 34 m. Most wildlife overpasses located in North America and Europe did not meet their respective dimensional expert guidelines. We investigate reasons explaining the non-compliance and provide recommendations for future overpass designs. Building on previous evidence showing that wider overpasses have increased crossing rates, we examined crossing rates for multiple large mammal species across 12 overpasses located in western North America. We qualitatively observed that wider North American overpasses (40–60 m), in or near compliance with expert guidelines, were associated with a more diverse set of species use and had nearly twice the average crossing rates when compared to non-compliant, narrow North American overpasses. In reviewing various studies from around the world, we conclude that wide overpasses (~50 m) continue to present ecologically sound and cost-effective solutions for decreasing the barrier of roadways, especially when targeting width-sensitive species and large assemblages of mammals. Future studies, however, are encouraged to further explore the specific instances when underpasses and narrower overpasses present more cost-effective ecological solutions, or how these structures can complement wide overpasses in successful wildlife crossing systems.

Shear-relative distributions of four types of precipitation/convection in tropical cyclones (TCs) are statistically analyzed using 14 years of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) data. The dataset of 1139 TRMM PR overpasses of tropical storms through category-2 hurricanes over global TC-prone basins is divided by future 24-h intensity change. It is found that increased and widespread shallow precipitation (defined as where the 20-dBZradar echo height <6 km) around the storm center is a first sign of rapid intensification (RI) and could be used as a predictor of the onset of RI. The contribution to total volumetric rain and latent heating from shallow and moderate precipitation (20-dBZecho height between 6 and 10 km) in the inner core is greater in RI storms than in non-RI storms, while the opposite is true for moderately deep (20-dBZecho height between 10 and 14 km) and very deep precipitation (20-dBZecho height ≥14 km). The authors argue that RI is more likely triggered by the increase of shallow–moderate precipitation and the appearance of more moderately to very deep convection in the middle of RI is more likely a response or positive feedback to changes in the vortex. For RI storms, a cyclonic rotation of frequency peaks from shallow (downshear right) to moderate (downshear left) to moderately and very deep precipitation (upshear left) is found and may be an indicator of a rapidly strengthening vortex. A ring of almost 90% occurrence of total precipitation is found for storms in the middle of RI, consistent with the previous finding of the cyan and pink ring on the 37-GHz color product.

We reviewed research on wildlife overpasses in the context of their genetic effectiveness to provide connectivity between population patches that have been isolated by road construction. The potential ecological consequences of such habitat fragmentation include reduction of gene flow between subpopulations and hence an increase in genetic differentiation and a decrease in genetic diversity. Among the solutions to provide connectivity between patches isolated by roads, wildlife overpasses are one of the most expensive alternatives. Despite the high costs associated with their construction, most of the studies assessing their use by wildlife remain observational, reporting evidence for passage use but few data on the number of individual crossings. Moreover, the use itself of wildlife overpasses does not appear sufficient to assess their effectiveness from a genetic viewpoint because a minimum number of individuals is required to assure gene flow between population patches and because the spatiotemporal dimension of individual movements and demographic parameters of subpopulations must be considered. So far, there is no evidence that wildlife overpasses do or do not efficiently address genetic issues. This lack of data is probably due to the fact that few mitigation efforts have implemented monitoring programs that incorporate sufficient experimental designs into pre- and postconstruction evaluation. To assess the genetic effectiveness of wildlife overpasses, long-term monitoring programs, including fieldwork and genetic analyses, are needed.

Monitoring infrastructures is becoming an important and challenging issue. In Italy, the heritage consists of more than 60,000 bridges, which need to be inspected and detected in order to guarantee their strength and durability function during nominal lifespan. In this paper, a non-destructive survey methodology for study concrete bridges surface deterioration and viaducts is presented. Terrestrial and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry has been used for visual inspection of a standard concrete overpass in L’Aquila (Italy). The obtained orthomosaic has been processed by means of Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) to identify and classify deteriorated areas and decay forms. The results show a satisfactory identification and survey of deteriorated areas. It has also been possible to quantify metric information, such as width and length of cracks and extension of weathered areas. This allows to perform easy and fast periodic inspections over time in order to evaluate the evolution of deterioration and plan urgency of preservation or maintenance measures.

In modern urban development, utilizing the space under overpasses (SUO) contributes to connecting the cityscape and facilitating the transformation of SUO into a public urban space. However, existing studies sometimes fail to properly take into account user requirements, resulting in the neglect of the SUO by the population. The solutions proposed are based on the assumption that the SUO can be renewed, but there is no thorough evaluation methodology to determine if the current state of the SUO can be renewed and in which areas it needs renewal. In this research, all the overpasses within the Third Ring Road in Chengdu are taken as samples. Based on cultural ecosystem services (CES) and external spatial quality (ESQ), an evaluation system for the renewal potential of SUO was established and the overpass with the most potential for regeneration was selected: the Longtan Overpass. Further, the KANO model was used to explore the categories of residents’ requirements for indicators of CES in the space under Longtan Overpass, so as to propose targeted renewal strategies. This study found a positive correlation between the satisfaction of residents living near Longtan Overpass and the natural aesthetics and facade landscape of the SUO. It also suggests that enhancing cultural service indicators such as sports, human aesthetics, customs and humanities, and geographical history can improve the attractiveness of the SUO. This study also found that quantitatively assessing the value of SUO through ecosystem cultural services is feasible, which provides new ideas and methods for updating SUO. These findings help urban designers understand how people feel.

The purposes of the study are assessing the current level of service (LOS) at the 14th-Ramadhan signalized intersection in CBD area of Al-Mansoor district in Baghdad city and increasing the improvement of the traffic operation system by investigating appropriate proposals to increase the traffic capacity of this facility. Data of traffic flow collected using Tally mark method by many observers. Evaluation of the current intersection is to be taken in consideration using HCS Technique (2010), also existing and proposal layouts are displayed using AutoCAD (2017). The results showed that the selected traffic facility are currently suffered from serious lowering in service level causing forced conditions (LOS \"F\"). Thus, most important considerations should be considered for developing in the LOS by proposing many solutions. In summary, the study is proposed to execute the overpass structure (Grade Separation Bridge) along 14th-Ramadhan street from southbound to northbound directions and vice versa (two lanes in each direction) considering the third proposal (P3). By using HCS2010, the LOS will be changed from F to B assuming that it is expected to continue at higher traffic performance for approximately at least 15 year later

Predictive maintenance on infrastructures is currently a hot topic. Its importance is proportional to the damages resulting from the collapse of the infrastructure. Bridges, dams and tunnels are placed on top on the scale of severity of potential damages due to the fact that they can cause loss of lives. Traditional inspection methods are not objective, tied to the inspector’s experience and require human presence on site. To overpass the limits of the current technologies and methods, the authors of this paper developed a unique new concept: a remote visual inspection system to perform predictive maintenance on infrastructures such as bridges. This is based on the fusion between advanced robotic technologies and the Automated Visual Inspection that guarantees objective results, high-level of safety and low processing time of the results.

As China’s urban development enters the era of stock optimization, the practice of transforming and utilizing spaces under urban overpasses is rapidly gaining momentum. Converting these underpass spaces into sports areas has emerged as a new form of creating public space. Understanding the perceptions of users from different age groups towards these underpass spaces holds significant guiding value for optimizing the design of such areas and improving the quality of service. Taking the Yanshan Interchange Lowline Park in Jinan as an example, this research applied methods of observation, interviews, questionnaires, and importance–satisfaction analysis (ISA) to investigate the activity preferences and the similarities and differences in the perceptions of spatial environment elements in underpass spaces among four age groups: children, youth, middle-aged adults, and the elderly. The findings indicate that different age groups exhibit varying degrees of sensitivity to spatial information, demand levels, and perceptual perspectives in underline parks, which result in distinct spatiotemporal distributions and spatial perception disparities when using the park. All the groups agree that the underpass sports space requires significant improvements in terms of comfort and safety. Based on this, this study proposes age-friendly urban space renewal strategies for spaces under elevated highways, focusing on addressing areas with lower satisfaction across all age groups. These strategies include optimizing the allocation of time, area, and activity types within activity spaces, enhancing the safety and comfort of activity areas, and enriching the cultural connotation and inclusivity of the space. This research provides a theoretical basis for optimizing and creating age-friendly or age-specific urban sports public spaces under elevated highways.

The article considers two options for the design of an overpass with a beam-cut and a beam-continuous static scheme. An inspection of the technical condition of beam-cut reinforced concrete bridges in operation in Tashkent built in 1970-90 was conducted. Estimating the maintenance costs of overpasses with different static schemes operating for the last 50 years shows that the continuous reinforced concrete option drastically reduces the cost of repair work in operation. This, in turn, has a cumulative effect on the development of the bridge-building industry in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The predicted operating costs of overpasses with different static schemes during operation for 50 years showed that in a continuous reinforced concrete option, 435,803,803 soums are saved annually. The most important thing is that the proposed solution dramatically reduces the cost of repair work. This, in turn, has a cumulative effect on the development of the bridge-building industry in the Republic of Uzbekistan.