Material provided by Bentley
When considering the state of the United States’ transportation infrastructure, it’s easy to become disheartened by what can seem like an insurmountable array of problems. Traffic congestion not only blocks mobility, but also contributes to air pollution. Meanwhile, public transportation is often inadequate or poorly developed, and roads, bridges, and tunnels across the nation are in dire need of repair.
Yet, when looking at the sector as a whole, it’s important to see not only these challenges, but also the opportunities they present. Transportation is about moving goods and people–perhaps more than any other space, a strong sector translates to a better quality of life and resilient economies.
Current Challenges
The many challenges of the industry can be grouped into a few key areas:
- Infrastructure repair. Building a great society is one thing; maintaining it is another. According to a 2021 survey from the American Society of Civil Engineers, 43% of America’s roadways are in poor or mediocre condition. In 2023, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association determined that 36% of the nation’s bridges need major work. Failing transportation infrastructure has wide-reaching implications, as it can undermine mobility, safety, and environmental sustainability. Everyone agrees that these repairs must be prioritised; however, everyone also agrees that they’re very expensive.
- Sustainability. Within the scope of any repairs or expansions, mitigating climate change is a pressing concern. Amid a global push to design new green transportation infrastructure, it’s important not to forget maintenance and repairs. Retrofits and new construction should prioritise sustainability by utilising alternative/greener building materials so existing infrastructure can become more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Moreover, it’s important to ensure that repair or retrofit processes do not themselves lead to negative environmental impacts. Right now, construction accounts for 70% of global emissions, so new sustainable methods and capabilities are sorely needed.
- Optimisation. Any transportation infrastructure upgrade, whether it’s roads, bridges, rail, tunnels, or waterways, share a singular goal—to safely optimise the flow of people and goods. At the same time, this flow is something of a moving target–it is inherently dynamic, driven by environmental, geographic, government regulatory, and economic factors. Ultimately, transportation infrastructure upgrades need to incorporate and account for these factors to create effective networks—and when much of our infrastructure is nearly 80 years old, we’re playing catch-up.
- Digital transformation. Transportation infrastructure needs both structural updates and technological updates. The manual processes upon which these systems need to operate can and should be replaced with automation. However, the transportation sector has been conservative in its adaptation and implementation, despite nearly everyone agreeing that this type of conversion is essential for economic growth. Digital technologies can not only improve transportation, helping to move and connect people and goods more efficiently, but also ameliorate the environmental footprint of these networks. Broad implementation of new technologies is a must.
Innovative Solutions
The good news is that technological solutions are emerging to facilitate the kinds of systemic improvements that U.S. transportation needs. Infrastructure digital twins can be used to create simulations of physical assets, such as bridges, roads, or tunnels, and replicating various scenarios to help planners, engineers and builders see opportunities or potential hiccups. These simulations can also predict maintenance needs, safety hazards, and energy inefficiencies, identifying areas where improvements are needed. Infrastructure digital twin capabilities can collect and merge often-siloed datasets and workflows, incorporating information from disparate sources to support data-driven decision-making that yields cost, time, and environmental savings.
Recently, we’ve seen some promising use cases for digital twins in sustainable infrastructure maintenance, upgrades, and retrofits. One of these examples is an ongoing project to realign and upgrade a section of I-70 at Floyd Hill, some 25 miles west of Denver. The goal is to relieve a severe bottleneck, improving traffic flow and safety, as well as lowering emissions through this mountainous and heavily traveled section of roadway. By using collaborative 3D modelling and digital twin applications, project lead AtkinsRéalis evaluated geometrics and parameters such as sight distance, visualized a range of different possible designs, and determined construction impact and feasibility—all of which were undertaken collaboratively with stakeholders, leading to an estimated savings of USD 7 million in project costs and 50,000 work hours.
Another successful use case is the upgrade of the East 138th Street Bridge in the Bronx, New York. Built in 1938, the bridge—which crosses over the Major Deegan Expressway and links Manhattan to the Bronx, approximately one mile from Yankee Stadium—needs to accommodate heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic, as well as eliminate vertical clearance issues that have resulted in vehicles striking the old bridge several times. Digital twins were used to review 180 different potential designs for this critical section of city infrastructure, determining which would be the most functional both during bridge replacement and in perpetuity, and accommodating an array of utilities connected to the bridge. The collaborative digital context established by digital twins not only optimised structural design, it also kept the project on track during pandemic restrictions.
Some Final Thoughts
It’s a challenging time for the U.S. transportation sector, but also an exciting one. Public and private organisations both are transforming the infrastructure landscape, leveraging the newest technologies to enable a 20th century system to address 21st century challenges. Using digital twin capabilities, we can repair aging assets and contend with geographic, transportation, and environmental challenges—all while meeting the needs of a country on the move.