PSI - Issue 84

Francesco La Fortezza et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 84 (2026) 368–375

375

application include a concise output file summarizing the analyses performed and the results of the verifications carried out by the TES software. 4. Remarks In July 2022, the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility adopted, by Ministerial Decree No. 242, the Guidelines on transport in exceptional conditions (LG TE) to establish a unified national regulatory and technical framework for the management of exceptional transports on the Italian road and motorway network. These Guidelines are part of a broader update to the legislation on road infrastructure safety and introduce more structured and homogeneous criteria for assessing the passability of exceptional vehicles, especially with respect to major structures and superstructures such as pavements. The entry into force of the LG TE, originally expected sooner, has been postponed several times and is now set for March 30, 2026, during which th e transitional regime provided by the Highway Code continues to apply. An especially innovative element of the Guidelines is the requirement to carry out detailed structural technical verifications for major structures (bridges, viaducts, overpasses), using traffic load models dedicated to exceptional vehicles that take into account load distribution, vehicle position in the carriageway, and the operating conditions of the infrastructure. Passability assessments must be conducted in accordance with other applicable technical regulations, such as Ministerial Decree No. 247 on guidelines for the classification and risk management and monitoring of existing bridges, adopting an integrated approach to evaluate the residual structural safety of the structures and the compatibility of the requested transit. Within this context, SINA, an engineering company of the ASTM Group, developed the TES software, an operational tool capable of performing detailed structural analyses of individual structures and supporting motorway concessionaires in the authorization process for the transit of exceptional vehicles. The development began with finite element modelling of the structures, with sectional checks in the most critical zones to evaluate structural responses to the load cases specified by the LG TE and to identify potential critical issues. This work made it possible to create a structured database containing all technical information and models for the major structures of each concessionaire, essential for managing transit requests quickly and consistently. Furthermore, a user-friendly web interface was developed to simplify and speed up the authorization process, allowing users to select entry and exit points, automatically identify the structures involved through kilometre markers, and carry out the structural and geometric checks required by the Guidelines. The system provides a clear overview of the compatibility of the requested transit and supports objective and traceable decisions on authorizations or requirements. In summary, the tool developed by SINA represents a concrete application of the Guidelines on exceptional transports, transforming regulatory requirements into a digital, structured, and repeatable process that improves the efficiency of the authorization workflow and enhances safety in the management of exceptional transits on existing infrastructure. References [1] Ministero delle Infrastrutture e della Mobilità Sostenibili (MIMS), Linee guida sui trasporti in condizioni di eccezionalità, (2022). [2] Ministero delle Infrastrutture e della Mobilità Sostenibili (MIMS), Linee guida per la classificazione e gestione del rischio, la valutazione della sicurezza ed il monitoraggio dei ponti esistenti, (2022). [3] Consiglio Superiore dei Lavori Pubblici, Istruzioni operative per l’applicazione delle Linee guida per la classificazione e gestione del rischio, la valutazione della sicurezza ed il monitoraggio dei ponti esistenti, (2025). [4] Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (MIT), Nuovo Codice della Strada, (1992).