Engineers at Iowa State’s Bridge Engineering Center are developing security equipment for the Bridges of Madison County in response to arson and other vandalism in recent years.

A range of monitoring devices are being built to protect the historic structures, featured in Robert James Waller’s 1992 novel and Clint Eastwood’s 1995 movie, both titled “The Bridges of Madison County.”

“The bridges have been in the news quite a bit in the last two or three years,” said Brent Phares, associate director for the Bridge Engineering Center. “One bridge was completely burned down, and another was set on fire.”

He said they hope to have the monitoring equipment implemented by the end of the summer. The monitoring equipment is important because of the historical value of the bridges, he said.

“There are very few pieces of history like this, and we need to protect them,” Phares said.

In 2002, the Cedar Bridge was completely destroyed by fire, said Todd Hagan, Madison County Engineer. The Hogback Bridge was also damaged in 2003, but it was not destroyed.

“Luckily, someone was out there jogging or something and was able to put it out,” Hagan said.

Terry Wipf, director of the Bridge Engineering Center, said the technology helps prevent vandalism by detecting different types of heat associated with fire.

Phares said the technology is comprised of three components — infrared cameras, flame detectors and fiber optic sensors.

The fiber-optic sensor uses reflected light to take measurements, Phares said.

Wipf said the infrared camera can “detect people in places after hours where they shouldn’t be.”

The flame detector utilizes three different measurements and can be monitored by local authorities.

“These things are designed to detect a small flame. We should have time to get the fire department out there,” Hagan said. “The covered bridge creates a chimney, and when they get started, they go quick. We’re trying to get a jump on it.”

The research is being funded through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Products Laboratory, which is a national laboratory associated with the development of security for wood bridges, Wipf said.

Iowa State’s Bridge Engineering Center has been collaborating with the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory for more than 20 years on various wooden bridge projects.

The current project was financed with a $126,000 grant from the Forest Service.