Research Project

Remote Monitoring of Historic Covered Timber Bridges in Madison County for the Prevention of Arson and Vandalism

Cedar Bridge in Madison County, Iowa

Researcher(s)

Principal investigator: Terry Wipf, 515-294-9501, tjwipf@iastate.edu (project list) Brent Phares, 515-294-5879, bphares@iastate.edu (project list)

Project status

In progress

Start date: 07/01/04
End date: 09/30/05

Publications

Related publications:

Bridge Engineering Center protects the bridges of Madison County (CTRE en Route) August 2005
Protecting Iowa's covered bridges (Technology News) October 2004

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Sponsor(s)/partner(s)

Sponsor(s):U.S. Department of Agriculture

About the research

Research objective: This work will consist of developing, deploying, and using a remote monitoring system for covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa. It is envisioned that with this system, proper authorities could be alerted, in real-time, to possible vandalism and/or arson. Additionally, it is thought that information from parts of the system could be made available to the general public via the internet. Specifically, streaming video of the bridges could be made available worldwide. It is felt that Madison County could use this web interface as a means of drawing attention to these bridges and increasing tourism revenue in the local community. To accomplish this, six general tasks will be completed: threat assessment, literature review, system development, system installation, and long-term monitoring, and final documentation.

2711 S. Loop Drive, Suite 4700, Ames, Iowa 50010-8664
Phone: 515-294-9501 ~ Fax: 515-294-0467
The Bridge Engineering Center is administered by Iowa State University's Institute for Transportation.