Construction and infrastructure projects are built to last – bridges, roads, tunnels and other infrastructure utilities are often designed for 50- to 100-year lifespans, and for some civil engineering structures, the life span can be even longer. But while the structures themselves endure, the way we create, manage, and store building information has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Just forty years ago, project documentation was largely manual. Today, entire projects are designed and managed in a digital environment, allowing for greater precision, collaboration, and lifecycle management.
However, these technological leaps have introduced new challenges: interoperability and data longevity. Can different software tools and project teams seamlessly collaborate on the projects of today? And – perhaps even more importantly – will today’s digital project files still be accessible decades from now? When considered in this light, it’s clear how essential open standards are.
Infrastructure projects are built to last, but digital project data often does not. Roads, bridges, tunnels, and utilities are expected to remain operational long after the software and file formats used to design them have become obsolete. If project data is locked into proprietary systems that become discontinued or incompatible with newer tools, essential information can become inaccessible, leading to costly workarounds, delays, and inefficiencies when updates or maintenance are required.
Another key challenge is that project teams change over time. The engineers who designed an asset may no longer be available decades later, and the firms responsible for construction and documentation may no longer exist. Without standardized, open formats, future teams may struggle to retrieve, interpret, or repurpose the original design data and as-builts, and there’s a risk of losing essential design details over time.
This is especially problematic for government agencies and public infrastructure owners, who are responsible for maintaining assets long after construction is complete. In response to this issue, governments worldwide are increasingly mandating open data standards for publicly funded infrastructure projects.
In the United States, for example, the Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (2018) promotes open data accessibility within federal agencies, ensuring that infrastructure projects maintain long-term data interoperability. Similarly, the EU Data Act requires standardized and accessible data sharing across industries, reinforcing the shift toward transparent, interoperable digital infrastructure. These regulations highlight a critical industry shift: organizations that fail to adopt open standards may find themselves non-compliant with emerging legal requirements.
Another challenge lies in the increasing complexity of infrastructure project teams, often involving multiple parties and stakeholders, each using specialized software. The shift to digital workflows has created new opportunities for efficiency but also introduced new challenges in maintaining compatibility between different software solutions. Therefore, the ability for different software tools and project teams to collaborate seamlessly is essential.
Traditionally, teams have relied on manual file conversions and workarounds to share information between incompatible systems. This often results in data loss, miscommunication, and duplicated effort, making it difficult to ensure that everyone is working with the most up-to-date information. In complex infrastructure projects, even small errors in data transfer can lead to costly rework and delays.
Real-world projects demonstrate the critical role of open standards in modern infrastructure. The Porto Metro Ruby Line relied on a common BIM approach and open data formats to coordinate multiple teams designing viaducts, tunnels, and stations across a complex urban environment. Similarly, the Shusha Bridge in Azerbaijan, a 280-meter steel arch spanning a deep valley, required IFC 4.3 for seamless data exchange between stakeholders working on geometry modeling, structural analysis, and parametric reinforcement (Figure 1). In both cases, open standards and interoperability ensured accurate data sharing, minimized errors, and enabled efficient collaboration – proving that open workflows are not just beneficial but essential for delivering complex infrastructure projects.
The continued shift toward digital workflows has made interoperability and open standards more essential than ever, particularly for infrastructure projects. Unlike closed, proprietary systems, open standards ensure that infrastructure project data remains accessible, usable, and adaptable across different software tools and project phases.
By using standardized, vendor-neutral formats like IFC, teams can share models, drawings, and project data without being locked into a single ecosystem. Instead of spending time reformatting files or troubleshooting compatibility issues, stakeholders can work with consistent, reliable data across disciplines.
ALLPLAN has long been committed to interoperability and open standards, ensuring that infrastructure professionals can work without barriers. OPEN BIM is embedded in our DNA, with continuous development focused on improving data exchange and long-term accessibility. ALLPLAN fully supports IFC 4.3, which expands the IFC standard to better serve infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges, and rail networks.
Additionally, ALLPLAN is IFC 4 Reference View (RV) certified, ensuring compliance with industry standards for accurate, reliable model exchange. Looking ahead, ALLPLAN continues to enhance its IFC capabilities, with full support for IFC 4 planned for future releases, reinforcing its role as a leader in open, future-proof infrastructure design solutions (Figure 2).
Beyond file formats, cloud-based collaboration platforms like BIMPLUS are also transforming workflows, enabling coordination of project data from multiple sources. While not a requirement of OPEN BIM, a Common Data Environment (CDE) ensures that all project participants are working with the latest information. This reduces misalignment between teams, version control issues, and unnecessary rework – a crucial step toward seamless collaboration in modern infrastructure projects.
As digitalization continues to reshape the construction and infrastructure sectors, interoperability is no longer just an advantage – it is a necessity. Open standards allow project teams to future-proof their data, improve collaboration, and maintain accessibility across an asset’s lifecycle, ensuring that today’s digital designs remain usable and valuable for decades to come.
For more information, see: Road and Infrastructure Design
Gregor Štrekelj is an experienced Structural Bridge Engineer and is the Product Manager for Infrastructure at Allplan Software Engineering GmbH, located in Graz. With a Masters degree from the Technical University in Maribor, Slovenia, specializing in Bridge Engineering, he started his professional career as a Support Engineer and Consultant Bridge Engineer, during which time he was involved in several international bridge projects. Continuing his professional development, he then gained experience as a Product Manager. Driven by a constant desire to provide a best-in-class bridge modeling, analysis, design and detailing solution, Gregor devotes himself in recent years to the Allplan Bridge product and the team behind it.
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