Advancing Bridge Deck Assessment: The Practical Application of Ground-Penetrating Radar in Structural Monitoring and Maintenance

Aging infrastructure demands effective assessment, maintenance, and modernization to ensure safety and resilience. Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) has become a key non-destructive testing (NDT) method for bridge deck evaluation, offering insights into structural integrity, damage detection, and long-term monitoring. This paper explores the evolution of GPR in civil engineering, focusing on technological advancements, industry standards, and real-world applications. A case study is included to demonstrate the practical use of the newest multi-channel GPR (MCGPR) system specific for bridge deck inspection, highlighting its advantages over single-channel systems in collecting high-density data efficiently. The study outlines a methodology for data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation methods that will be applied in the second phase of this research to a selected number of bridges. MCGPR enables consistent, periodic data collection, establishing a powerful tool for long-term monitoring.