1 Introduction

Across the UK and many other parts of Europe,

stone and brickwork bridges are vital to the road,

rail and communications networks and the

majority of these bridges are now more than 100

years old. Vehicle weights and the traffic volumes

long ago surpassed those which might have been

conceived at the time of their construction and

over the years their strength has reduced due a

wide range of causes such as action of water, ice,

salt, wind, settlement, subsidence, scour,

vegetation and human activity [1].

Decisions concerning the service life of a bridge,

specification of appropriate monitoring regimes,

and any necessary interventions need to be

rational and well-informed. For this purpose,

robust inspection regimes and records are

needed, along with the use of suitable monitoring

techniques. Underpinning these decisions must

also be a thorough understanding of the

behaviour of the structure.

MEXE, equilibrium and mechanism methods are