Minimization of the time required for designing bridges is increasingly becoming an issue, particularly in connection with large motorway and railway projects. COWI´s in-house developed CAE-system IBDAS (Integrated Bridge Design and Analysis System) offers full consistency between geometry and structural analysis, right up to the production of drawings.
Other materials than steel and concrete find their way into bridge construction, such as aluminium, fibre reinforced composites and wood. Pedestrian bridges are ideally suited for introducing new materials. This often goes hand in hand with a desire to produce aesthetically pleasing landmark structures.
Bridge construction in developing countries is a concentrated multidisciplinary task consisting of project identification, appraisals, feasibility studies, geotechnical, hydrologic and environmental studies, design, tendering and supervison. COWI integrates all these disciplines among our permanent staff.