A comprehensive review of indirect bridge health monitoring

Indirect Bridge Health Monitoring (BHM) using indirect measurements of the response from passing vehicles has recently gained significant attention from researchers within the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) domain. This approach requires only one or a few sensors installed on the vehicle, making it more cost-effective, efficient, and easier to implement than traditional methods, which demand numerous sensors on bridges. Recent advancements in both algorithms and hardware have further accelerated progress in this field. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive, one-stop review of indirect BHM using measured vehicle response since 2004. It systematically analyzes the connections and integrations within existing literature, incorporating rapidly emerging state-of-the-art studies. The review initiates with a bibliometric analysis, covering annual publication trends, keyword cooccurrence, and authorship networks, followed by a discussion on the fundamental theories of vehicle–bridge interaction. Subsequently, it summarizes the vehicle, bridge, and road roughness models used in indirect BHM. Furthermore, it explores current techniques and challenges in identifying bridge modal parameters, such as bridge frequencies, mode shapes, and damping ratios, as well as in indirect bridge damage detection using signal processing, modal-based, and data-driven methods. Additionally, this review includes affiliated studies that, while not directly related, contribute to the advancement of indirect BHM. Finally, recent developments in 2025, future investigation directions, and key conclusions are provided. It is intended to serve as a fundamental resource for researchers seeking to advance their studies in the field of indirect BHM.