Case Study: Collins Engineers achieves 20% faster field inspections and streamlined Stone Arch Bridge rehabilitation with Bentley digital twin technology

Collins Engineers Advances Digital Inspection and Data Collection to Restore Iconic Pedestrian Bridge in Minneapolis

Collins Engineers was hired by the Minnesota Department of Transportation to assess and rehabilitate the 140‑year‑old Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis, a large masonry structure whose scale and complexity made traditional inspection methods slow and insufficient. To overcome limited detail, public‑access constraints, and extensive surface area, Collins turned to Bentley and its digital twin and reality modeling applications, including ContextCapture and AssetWise Inspections, to digitize inspections and generate a high‑fidelity 3D model.

Working with Bentley, Collins captured over 13,000 drone images, processed them in ContextCapture to create a digital twin, and used mixed‑reality and AssetWise Inspections to perform virtual and tablet‑based field inspections. The Bentley solution improved data quality and collaboration, reduced field inspection time by 20%, limited bridge closure to just four days, and is expected to cut MnDOT construction bidding costs by 10–15% thanks to more accurate repair scope and reduced construction risk.

Collins Engineers

Barritt Lovelace

Director of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Artificial Intelligence, and Reality Modeling