The platform will connect asset owners, engineers, designers, local authorities, and industry partners, providing a shared space to catalogue, identify and directly reuse bridges. By facilitating collaboration across the supply chain, the platform aims to unlock the value of existing assets that might otherwise go to waste. It is supported by the Useful Simple Trust and ICE.
Re-Bridge will support direct reuse of components, reducing embodied carbon in construction, lowering project and material costs, extending the life cycle of materials, and retaining the value of infrastructure.
“Re-Bridge is about moving from theory to implementation,” said Hazel Needham, associate structural engineer at Expedition and co-author of Steel Reuse in Bridges. “With the right tools and collaboration, existing spans can become valuable assets for new projects.”
Camille Chevrier, associate engineer at Format, commented: “This catalogue is the first step towards bridge stock-led-design. It will change the question from ‘what can we build?’ to ‘what do we already have?’. We’re redefining waste as a resource, one span at a time.”
The platform is now live and open to contributions from across the industry. The Re-Bridge team encouraged asset owners and to participate by cataloguing structures and components that are currently unused, or due to be replaced or upgraded with no identified future use. By doing so, they can play a direct role in enabling reuse and reducing the environmental impact of new projects.
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