Portsmouth Memorial Bridge

Corrosion Evaluation and Cathodic Protection Design for Concrete Piles in a Marine Environment

As part of an existing bridge renovation, steel threadbar micro-piles were used to pin the existing approximately 100 year old concrete piers to bedrock below the river channel.  During the micro-pile installation, a concern arose that cracks, voids, or damage to the existing piers may have exposed the micro-pile steel casings directly to seawater.

Vector Corrosion Services was contracted to perform corrosion testing on the piers to determine the suitability of cathodic protection and to develop a system sufficient for a 25 year anode design life.  Onsite testing was performed to confirm that corrosion was a concern and this information was used to design the customized galvanic protection system utilizing bulk aluminum anodes placed around the piers.

Vector’s scope of work included the following

• On site corrosion investigation and recommendations
• Cathodic protection design
• System commissioning and report

Costs
$50,000, Construction Costs:  n/a

Reference
Owner:  New Hampshire DOT
Client:   Archer Western Contractors
45 Shawmut Road
 Canton, MA 02021
 Mr. Tom Hale, 207-439-8396
  thale@walshgroup.com