A selection of concrete bridges with severe damages

Leonardo Todisco (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)


This short text presents two cases of study where several damages were detected and immediate repair actions were taken.

Bridge over Gévora river

As shown in the next picture, the bridge is composed by I-shaped prestressed concrete girders, with a slab on the top. In this kind of structures, reinforced concrete is generally replaced by prestressed concrete. The bridge has a typical span-to-depth ratio of 18, which is a common value for this typology. The vertical structure is composed by 3 piers sharing a pier cap

Detected damages:

  • no drainage system;
  • several moisture stains in the bottom part of the structures;
  • exposed transversal and longitudinal reinforcement after spalling of the concrete cover;
  • shear cracks in the pier caps.

Repair actions:

  • special inspection to inspect bearings of beams;
  • demolition of the existing pavement and installation of a drainage system;
  • reparation of the concrete surface;
  • general cleaning of the structure surface
  • monitoring of the shear cracks.
Autonomia Bridge over Guadiana river

The bridge was built between 1988 and 1990 in Badajoz (Spain). It has a total length of 320 m and the deck width is around 20 m.

Detected damages:

  • bearings broken and located out of their original position.

Repair actions:

  • special inspection to inspect all the bearings and to assess their structural condition;
  • general cleaning of the area where bearings are located;
  • improvement of the drainage system in the same area;
  • monitoring of the bridge displacement in the horizontal direction.
bridge bridgeIn the two images above: Bridge over Gévora river.
In the two images below: Autonomia Bridge over Guadiana river. bridge bridge