Diagnostics and preservation strategies applied to historic iron infrastructures: the Paderno arch bridge (1889)

The paper summarizes the dynamics-based assessment of the historic San Michele bridge at Paderno d’Adda (Italy). The San Michele bridge over the Adda river at Paderno, built between 1887 and 1889, is one of the masterpieces of XIX century iron architecture and a symbol of Italian industrial archaeology heritage. In order to address a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) program of the bridge - that is still used as a combined road and railway bridge -a series of dynamic test s was performed in operational conditions between June 2009 and June 2011 which drove to the installation of a permanent dynamic monitoring system. The whole investigation includes dynamic testing and long term monitoring, visual inspection and development of a baseline FE model of the historic bridge.