📅 September 2026: Inspecting Viaducts with Drone Imagery
This month we look at decks, fascias, piers, webs, spans and soffits — some of the key structural components that make up a rail viaduct.
A viaduct is an elevated section of rail infrastructure made up of multiple spans supported by piers. Many areas, particularly the soffit, webs and elevated fascia, can be difficult to inspect using conventional access methods.
Typical viaduct components including the deck, fascia, web, soffit, piers and spans.
Drone technology allows high-resolution imagery to be captured along these areas, creating a detailed visual record of the concrete and structural surfaces without requiring physical access to every location.
This imagery can be particularly valuable when documenting the structure as-built, under no-load conditions, under operational load and during future inspections. Consistent photographic records allow engineers to compare the same areas over time and identify visible changes or anomalies that may require further assessment.
For large infrastructure projects, images can also be indexed by span, structural face and GPS location, creating a searchable photographic history of the structure.
To be continued...