The assessment of existing structures adopting a specific code or standard is a technical procedure that is provided only in some nation. The possibility of harmonizing these type of procedure is needed in Europe, together with a completely new plan of infrastructural renewal. In this study new insight on this theme are provided, together with some code proposal for the new Eurocode era. Many existing bridges all over the world were not designed for the high service loads and the increased number of load cycles that they are exposed to today. Some bridges will have to be either strengthened or replaced in the next decades. Advancing their age, bridges could be subjected to a large variety of not designed actions or could also be not accurately maintained, leading to a particular state in which they need particular care and attention, in order to remain in service. Moreover, existing structures were not exempted from serious failures and engineers had regularly to suffer setbacks. These setbacks contributed in many cases, however, to research and advancements in better understanding structural behaviour and developing new theories (Kuhn et al. 2010). In these cases, the assessment procedures are needed.
