The Impact of Corrosion on Concrete Infrastructures

In the past 50 years, U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (Washington DC & Florida) have done research on the bridges and offshore platforms that have aggressive chloride environments and show evidence of corrosion after short service periods. They found that, since mid of 1970’s, the cost of repairing or replacing of deteriorated structures has become a major liability for highway agencies. $20 Billion was spent on repairing corrosion problems in the past 10 years and it is increasing at $500 Million per year. The primary cause of this deterioration (cracking, delamination, and spalling) are due to the chloride attacking the reinforced steel.

Various Cathodic Protection techniques were developed to prevent corrosion in their bridges & offshore platforms. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (Publication no. 00-081, August 2000) is applying cathodic protection on their major bridges/tunnels, etc. The advantage of deploying Cathodic Protection System are:

1.    100% guaranteed service life (10 to 100 years life span)

2.    Easy installation

3.    Low maintenance

4.    Decreases (stop) the risk of corrosion in the reinforced concrete structures

In recent years, Road and Transportation Authority (RTA) of Dubai, have taken the approach of deploying Cathodic Protection System on their assets such as Dubai Water Canal and Shindagha Tunnel since it is a simpler option that allows to decrease the risk of corrosion on their reinforced concrete assets.

Culprits That Caused Miami Bridge Corrosion

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3 Culprits That Caused Miami Bridge Corrosion

Jet Skis, waverunners and other personal watercraft shooting salt water up at the underside of the MacArthur Causeway have caused extensive corrosion on one end of the bridge, necessitating repairs to beams and columns. It's also time to replace the top three inches of concrete on the bridge's surface.

The bridge connects the city of Miami to the barrier island of Miami Beach.

Residents and commuters of the notoriously traffic-jammed region should brace themselves for a long stretch of headaches on the main causeway connecting South Beach to mainland Miami.

The Miami Herald reports the Florida Department of Transportation began a two-year, $12.9 million rehabilitation project on the corrosion of the bridge in June 2018.

Reference: https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Waverunners-Jet-Skis-to-Blame-in-Miami-Bridge-Corrosion-488207961.html

Ducorr Won the contract for Shindagha Bridge Project

Ducorr was awarded a contract to deploy a Cathodic Protection System for Dubai’s $107.3 million Shindagha Bridge project.

Ducorr role as cathodic protection specialist is to ensure the durability of the parts of the bridge that require corrosion protection.

Shindagha Bridge is a part of the AED5 billion Shindagha Corridor Project extending 13km along Sheikh Rashid Street as well as Al Mina, Al Khaleej and Cairo Streets.

The bridge’s iconic design features an architectural arch-shaped in the form of the mathematical symbol for infinity. The top of the infinity arch rises 42 m. About 2,400 tons of steel will be used in the construction of the bridge. 

Hassan Sheikh, Managing Director of Ducorr Middle East, said: “It is truly a great honor for us to be a part of the Shindagha Bridge Project, as Shindagha is one of the oldest and historical areas of Dubai and was home to the late Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai.”