Implementing At-scale Drone Technology for Bridge Inspection Using 50 Drones in 20 Kansas Counties Estimated to Cost $8,600,000.
Pilot Project Tested Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Technology for Bridge Inspection Across Kansas.
Kansas, United States
Drone technology has emerged as an effective method for infrastructure inspections, particularly in rural areas and under hazardous conditions. This project tested the use of drones to inspect bridges in four Kansas counties (Sedgwick, Saline, Cowley, and Cloud) and developed a platform to integrate the drone-collected information with other data. The project had two main goals: to develop a proof-of-concept for asset monitoring using drones and to evaluate the feasibility of expanding the project across the state. Pilot testing began in July 2024 on three bridges in Saline County using two different drone sizes. In Spring 2025, this was expanded to 20 bridges across the four counties. The project team also trained a machine learning model to automate the detection of damages such as cracks and rust.
The total estimated cost to scale the deployment across 20 counties in the future was approximately $8.6 million.
|
Cost Area |
Total Cost |
| Drones (50) at $18,000 each |
$900,000 |
| Batteries and chargers at $500 each |
$25,000 |
| Real-Time Kinematic (RTK)/ and Post-Processed Kinematic) (PPK) package at $1,500 each |
$75,000 |
| Software licensing for 3 years at $20,000 per county |
$400,000 |
| Drones (10) for advanced applications at $150,000 each |
$1.5 million |
| Data storage and system maintenance |
$500,000 |
| Machine learning implementation |
$500,000 |
| Training and workforce development |
$1.5 million |
| Initial setup and deployment |
$1 million |
| Project management / misc. costs |
$600,000 |
| Labor over three years |
$1.1 million |
| Unitemized infrastructure expansion and technological enhancements |
~$500,000 |
| Total |
$8.6 million |
USDOT SMART FY2022 Grant: Smart Counties in Kansas Final Implementation Report
Drone technology for bridge inspection estimated to cost $8,600,000.
