KREBS+KIEFER presents at the international IABSE bridge conference in Copenhagen

On June 25 and 26, 2018 the “International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering” (IABSE) conference took place in Copenhagen. KREBS+KIEFER actively participated in this global meeting of bridge and structural engineering experts.

The bold motto of the conference was: “Engineering the Past, to Meet the Needs of the Future”. The event focused mainly on bridge construction and dealt with the topics of design, implementation, maintenance and deconstruction. The conference opening was presented by Ms. Tina Vejrum, Director of the Danish IABSE Group. The president of the association, Prof. Fernando Branco, emphasised the significance of the above-mentioned topics in his highly acclaimed key-note address. Furthermore, he pointed out the safety aspect along with the equally important aspect of functionality, which must play a key role in meeting the requirements of the future. Mr. Lars Fuhr Pedersen, Director of engineering at Sund & Baelt Holding A/S, elaborated further on bridge maintenance of past and future mega-projects in Denmark.

Special emphasis of the lecture was on careful planning, also taking into account all aspects of the bridges’ maintenance later on, which is crucial to the success of any infrastructure project. Danish mega bridges at the Oresund and Storebælt impressively underline the successful im-plementation of these aspects and should be considered successful examples for future infra-structure projects all over the world. Continuous maintenance of these constructions, with timely maintenance and repair measures as needed, ensure a long life-cycle and prevent the need for much more costly measures.

Dr.-Ing. Ioannis Retzepis, Managing Director and partner at KREBS+KIEFER, reported on reinforcement concepts for bridge structures throughout Germany. Examples of completed pre-stressed concrete and steel bridges served to explain the goal-oriented and cost-effective implementation of these concepts, taking into account the entire service life of the constructions presented.