Long-term maintenance for Rio-Antirrio bridge

Seismic protection devices

Longer cables are equipped with pendular external dampers designed with stroke limiters to avoid damage during seismic action and to counter wind-induced vibrations.

The anchorages are protected with a paraseismic deviator especially designed for the bridge. They allow free movement of the cable under regular service condition but acts as a guide with a controlled bend during seismic action. At such a time, they work to isolate the anchorage system from angular deviations and bending stresses that would likely reach strand yield strength during an extreme earthquake.

Corrosion inspection of anchorages

The bridge cable system is designed so that if a strand is corroded, it can be replaced individually without the need to remove or replace the whole cable. The strands are individually protected by three layers and the external duct provides the fourth.

The cables are regularly checked for corrosion during the two-year periodic inspection.

One of the operations involves opening the anchorages to remove the wax surrounding the ends of the highly galvanized strands and the wedge blocking system to check for any corrosion. To reinject the new wax into the anchorages, special heating belts and plates are used as well as a pump that we supply for the purpose of the inspection.