The difficulty of this reinforcement project was that access to the shopping center with cinema etc. had to be made possible despite the rehabilitation work. Due to the simultaneous rehabilitation of another bridge in this area, the traffic was diverted or could be led over the two bridges in one lane. Accordingly, the rehabilitation and reinforcement had to be carried out on one half of the lane at a time. 

Refurbishment in two stages

The FRP laminates were dimensioned in such a way that a joint with a corresponding overlap was calculated in the middle of the bridge deck. In this overlap area, the slots for the FRP laminates were made wider so that two laminates including adhesive could be bonded into one slot at a time. The work of FRP reinforcement in lane 1 was carried out in October 2022. Due to the rehabilitation of the other bridge and traffic planning, the FRP reinforcement in lane 2 could not be carried out directly afterwards. Due to weather conditions, this work was scheduled for spring 2023. 

The asphalt surface course was already applied in the completed and reinforced area. However, the overlap area had to remain free in order to be able to connect the laminates in lane 2. In order to be able to ensure a later clean bonding of the strips in the joint area, no adhesive was applied in this area yet. However, the slot had to remain free of dirt for the entire period, as this could no longer have been removed. The contractor provided an appropriate planking, which was sealed and bonded to the substrate. This also allowed the asphalt surface course to be applied without any problems. 

In March 2023, the reinforcement was scheduled to be connected in lane 2. The protective planking of the overlap was opened and the overlap area was in good condition as planned. This meant that the FRP laminates could be overlapped,  and installed without any problems.