first published week of:   04/03/2023

Digital Twins Help Infrastructure Become Smarter

by Matt Piper

A digital twin for major infrastructure is only as good as the data that informs it

Jamaica station in Queens is one of New York City’s most vital transit hubs, a stop for most Long Island Railroad routes with connections to several subway lines and the AirTrain to John F. Kennedy International Airport. On weekdays, 200,000 riders make it the nation’s second-busiest commuter rail stop and the fourth-busiest train station overall. Anything that impedes its functions—such as problems with the tracks, railbeds, or signaling systems—could disrupt New York’s overall transit system.

Architects and engineers have always taken a long view when designing critical infrastructure, such as Jamaica station, mindful that their creations will need to remain robust well into the future. The era of climate change has both reinforced and complicated this imperative. Now, they must ask additional questions: How strong must a bridge be to withstand increased storm surges? How should new rail lines and roadways be constructed if once-a-century floods now occur every decade and at higher levels?

 Read full story at ENR…

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