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Bridge Owners Forum

In person session BOFI

The University of Galway, through the EPA funded CRANN (Climate Resilient Adapted National Network of Bridges) project, is leading the establishment of the Bridge Owners Forum Ireland (BOFI) — a new national platform designed to support collaboration and knowledge sharing among Irish bridge owners and bridge managers.  

Goals of the Bridge Owners Forum Ireland 

  • Strengthen cooperation, collaboration, and partnership among bridge owners 

  • Identify technical and research needs to support best practice in bridge management 

  • Share relevant information and updates across the sector 

  • Recommend research priorities while avoiding duplication of effort 

  • Provide technical advice and support to the Irish Bridges Board and bridge engineers

To date, two BOFI meetings were held.

Initial Online Meeting (April 2026)

The first BOFI meeting was held online on 21 April 2026 and brought together representatives from bridge-owning organisations and infrastructure agencies across Ireland and the UK. The meeting introduced the concept of BOFI and explored the need for a national forum dedicated to improving communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing within the bridge sector. Participants discussed current challenges, including fragmented data, limited knowledge exchange between organisations, monitoring and early warning systems, and constraints associated with bridge maintenance and rehabilitation projects. There was strong support for establishing a collaborative and sustainable network to facilitate the sharing of best practice, lessons learned, training opportunities, and technical expertise.

First In-Person Meeting (June 2026)

Building on the positive engagement from the introductory meeting, the first in-person BOFI meeting took place on 18 June 2026 at Queen's University Belfast during the Civil Engineering Research in Ireland (CERI 2026) Conference. The meeting brought together bridge owners, infrastructure managers, government representatives, academics, and industry stakeholders to discuss the future direction of the forum.

Discussions focused on forum governance, membership, and long-term sustainability, with broad agreement that BOFI should remain a bridge-owner-led initiative while providing structured opportunities for engagement with academia and industry. Participants also explored lessons learned from the long-established UK Bridge Owners Forum and identified several priority areas for future collaboration, including climate resilience, data sharing, bridge monitoring, inspection and maintenance practices, and the development of a repository of bridge case studies and lessons learned.

Next steps...

  • Continue engagement with bridge owners, managers, and key stakeholders across Ireland.

  • Develop the forum structure and identify appropriate membership arrangements.

  • Establish priority topics and areas of common interest for future discussions.

  • Promote collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the exchange of best practices.

  • Strengthen links between bridge owners, academia, and industry.

  • Organise future BOFI meetings and networking opportunities.

  • Build a sustainable forum that supports the long-term management and resilience of Ireland's bridge infrastructure.

 Minutes