Аннотация:This article describes of the actual state of building structures by the example of structures of reinforced concrete and metal bridges. It is shown that a high degree of wear of artificial structures leads to the need for a reliable assessment of their actual condition using modern methods and means of non-destructive testing and diagnostics, as well as strengthening exploited structures with polymer composite materials. The results of researches on fiber-optic monitoring and strengthening of bridge spans with composite materials based on domestic and foreign carbon reinforcing fillers and epoxy polymer matrices are presented. It has been experimentally shown that for reinforced concrete structures it is advisable to use composite strengthening systems using external reinforcement installed directly on the damaged object by contact molding. For metal structures, this approach is not applicable due to a significant difference in the coefficients of linear thermal expansion of composites and metals. In this case, an amplification system based on prefabricated composite truss systems made by autoclave and unautoclave molding can be applied. The obtained research results also indicate the advisability of joint use of monitoring systems and strengthening of damaged bridge structures by composites.