AbstractMetal and steel truss bridges are essential for transportation networks worldwide but are vulnerable to collapse due to deterioration and increasing traffic loads, particularly for ageing structures. Several bridge collapses, such as the Seongsu bridge (South Korea, 1994), I‐35 bridge (USA, 2007), and Chauras bridge (India, 2012), have highlighted the need to develop accurate robustness assessment strategies and efficient mitigation of collapse risks. This paper summarizes results of experimental and computational studies for a steel riveted bridge with a truss‐type structure. The experimental component presented involves unique tests to be performed on a 21 m full‐scale bridge span subjected to the failure of different elements under laboratory conditions. The paper then presents a first approach to explore different damage and failure scenarios for steel truss bridges, which will assist in defining data collection strategies for optimised monitoring and developing data analysis methods for real‐time diagnosis of ageing bridges. With this, the paper contributes to avoiding progressive collapses and presents a framework, developed as part of an ongoing project, to identify vulnerable zones for prioritising monitoring systems that anticipate failure propagation and prevent collapse. The framework is based on a systematic analysis of past bridge failures and simulations of carefully designed generic cases.