| Bridge Maintenance - Princes Drive River Bridge |
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Princes Drive River Bridge is a reinforced concrete structure built in the late 1920's, and carries Princes Drive over the River Leam in Leamington Spa close to Ford's Foundry and the recycling centre
A routine inspection revealed some deterioration of the fabric of the structure, although nothing too serious. An investigation into the condition of the underside of the bridge was carried out in April 2004 to determine the cause of this deterioration.
The main problems found is concrete cracking, and some areas of concrete flaking off from the main structure. This is mainly caused by chemical attack from water containing road salts from winter gritting operations, which can attack both the concrete and reinforcing steel. General atmospheric pollution can also cause damage to concrete over a number of years.
Further investigations revealed that the structure had been built without a waterproofing layer. Waterproofing is very important to a structure, it is the first line of defence against Chemical attack. This lack of waterproofing is one of the main causes of damage to the concrete in the bridge
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Typical Bridge Deck Waterproofing
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The Bridge Maintenance Section commissioned a scheme to waterproof the bridge deck to prevent further deterioration.
The works started on 23 October 2006 and were timed to coincide with the School Half Term to reduce traffic disruption. The scheme took just over 4 weeks to complete. During this period Princes Drive was closed to Northbound traffic, | Princes Drive Bridge - Elevation |
 Princes Drive Bridge | A safety Barrier was installed on the southern side of the bridge to protect the footway from vehicles accidentally mounting the footpath.
The bridge has a weak edge which is unable to carry the weight of motor vehicles. |
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The Bridge Maintenance Section has also undertaken repairs to the underside of the bridge and to the parapets, using specialised concrete repair materials. The bridge has also received a protective coating of decorative paint to prevent further attack by atmospheric pollution.
The weak flood plain span was strenghtened in Spring 2008 by the addition of two concrete box culvert units
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