The Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, a symbol of the American Civil Rights Movement and an exemplar of early 20th-century engineering, stands as a testament to the progress and challenges of its era. The bridge, recognized for its pivotal role in the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” conflict and the following Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights, also represents significant engineering achievements with its distinctive design and construction methodology. In this study, the research team presents a comprehensive framework for documenting heritage bridges by utilizing Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) technology, supplemented by other Reality Capture (RC) techniques, including Structure from Motion (SfM), 360-degree photography, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and integrating the data within a Building Information Modeling (BIM) environment.
From a research paper by D. S. Willikens et al.
The focus on the Edmund Pettus Bridge case study demonstrates how this novel approach can capture the
intricate details of its structural and architectural features while preserving its historical narratives.
The documentation outcomes, including a detailed BIM model and a set of Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) drawings, highlight the effectiveness of combining TLS and BIM in conserving unconventional heritage structures like bridges.
This paper also discusses the technological challenges encountered, such as dealing with heavy traffic and environmental constraints during data acquisition and developing the BIM model and drawings. It outlines the strategies implemented to address these issues.
This research contributes to preserving a severely under-represented American National Historic Landmark (NHL). It sets a precedent for documenting other non-building heritage structures, balancing technological advancements with historical integrity.
Heritage engineering structures, like bridges, stand as a testament to historical and cultural narratives and the advancements in engineering and architecture over the ages. Often representing significant historical events and technological milestones, these structures impose documentation and preservation for future generations to study, interpret,
understand, and appreciate.
The conservation of heritage bridges is critically dependent on accurately documenting their current state [1]. However, the documentation of heritage bridges presents unique challenges. Traditional methods mainly relied on manual measurements, hand-drawn sketches, and photography, which, while valuable, often fall short of capturing the intricate details in the required precision [2,3] and the full scope of these structures.
These techniques are invasive, posing risks to the physical condition of the often delicate historical sites [2,4,5]. The complexity of the design of the bridges, combined with their historical significance, requires a documentation approach that is comprehensive and respectful of the structure’s integrity [6].
For the complete paper CLICK HERE.
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