AI and innovations like digital twins can play a key role in realising the UK’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, setting an example of how to build projects faster, more sustainably and better able to serve communities over the long term, writes Lydia Walpole, global senior director of performance at Bentley Systems
The UK’s newly announced 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy is both ambitious and timely. Backed by £725bn in planned investment, it represents a rare opportunity to reimagine how the UK’s major infrastructure programmes will be designed, built and maintained.
Achieving this vision, however, will require more than policy and funding. It will depend on public and private sectors working together to embrace digital delivery, with AI playing a central role in the transformation.
Over the past few decades, the construction and infrastructure sectors have been steadily modernising, moving from paper drawings to BIM, and from disconnected project teams to cloud-based collaboration.
Each step brought measurable improvements. Challenges lie ahead that will require a new level of capabilities. These challenges are vast and wide in scale, from meeting net zero goals and building resilience in the face of climate change to addressing the global workforce shortage in infrastructure and helping growing communities develop and prosper. AI may just be the tool to help address these challenges head-on.
AI is already delivering value at every stage of the project lifecycle. In early planning and design, AI-driven generative tools, like OpenSite+ for civil site design, can quickly explore thousands of options, helping teams optimise cost, sustainability and long-term resilience objectives.
The ability to foresee potential environmental compliance challenges before construction begins not only saves time and money but also can ensure sustainability is built-in to projects from the outset.
On construction sites, AI brings real-time insight by integrating data from sensors, equipment and project management systems. This allows project teams to detect potential schedule delays, safety concerns or quality issues early, helping to reduce risks, improve efficiency and keep delivery on track.
Once an asset is in operation, AI-enabled digital twins coupled with AI analysis based on data from drones, and IoT/embedded sensors can offer an ongoing view of performance and condition. They can model scenarios and patterns, enabling asset owners to plan maintenance proactively and extend an asset’s life. AI supports better decision-making throughout the life of the asset, which maximises long-term value for owners and the community.
However, for AI benefits to be fully realised, technology adoption must go hand-in-hand with changes in culture, skills and collaboration. AI must be seen as a tool that can help augment engineering workflows, allowing engineers to focus on higher-value tasks and creative problem solving.
Further, responsible, ethical use of AI is essential as it will help guide engineering decision-making across the entire infrastructure lifecycle. When stakeholders can trust both the technology and insights generated from AI, it becomes both a tool and reliable partner.
However, technology companies must commit to rigorous governance, accountability and open collaboration to ensure AI solutions are fair, explainable and aligned with the organisations they support.
Specifically, for the UK, the government’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy is an opportunity to lead the way in how infrastructure is delivered. By pairing strong policy with thoughtful adoption of AI and other digital innovations like digital twins, the UK can set an example for how to build projects that are faster to deliver, more sustainable and better able to serve communities over the long term.
With the right balance of technology, collaboration and vision, AI has the potential to become a trusted enabler of this future.
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