Fifth Street Bridge Upgrades
Services Applied by VCS Engineering
Summary
The Fifth Street Bridge located in downtown Courtenay, British Columbia was constructed in 1960 and consists of a steel truss frame on a reinforced deck supported by steel I-beams and two abutments. The City wanted to rehabilitate the bridge to extend its serviceable life. As part of the scope for the rehabilitation, a cathodic protection (CP) system will be installed on the bridge. An impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) system will be installed in the deck and a targeted galvanic cathodic protection (GCP) will be installed at the flanges of the steel I-beams encapsulated in the lower section of the deck.
Scope
VCS conducted a concrete material and corrosion assessment of the superstructure using several non-destructive and material sampling techniques including:
- Hammer sounding
- Ground penetrating radar survey to determine rebar cover-depth
- Corrosion potential survey
- Concrete chloride concentration
Solution
Upon completion of the fieldwork and data analysis, VCS designed two cathodic protection systems to extend the service life of the bridge superstructure by 20 years or more. VCS developed an ICCP system for the deck which consisted of a titanium-mesh anode and a targeted galvanic CP system for the deck underside. VCS also developed a remote monitoring system that allowed the structure Owner to assess the performance of both CP systems in real-time after the completion of the project. During the on-site construction phase, VCS assisted the Contractor in conducting quality control inspections to ensure proper installation of the CP systems.
