Island Way Bridge Cathodic Protection Jackets
Services Applied by VCS Engineering
Project Description
VCS was contracted to supply shop drawings, design calculations, quality control, and quality assurance services of the galvanic cathodic protection jacket system to be installed on the piers of the Island Way Bridge in Dana Point Harbor. Embedded distributed galvanic anodes and aluminum bulk anodes were used in this cathodic protection system. A NACE Certified VCS representative was on site at all times that cathodic protection work was taking place to assure proper system installation and performance.
Project Issue
The Island Way Bridge spans a Pacific Coast harbor. Reinforcing steel corrosion in the tidal and splash zones had caused damage to the concrete bridge piers. Standard repairs would not be sufficient in these areas as it was not possible to remove the chloride contaminated concrete, and prevent recontamination.
Project Solution
A custom concrete encasement with galvanic cathodic protection was installed on each pier to repair the defects and mitigate future corrosion of the reinforcing steel. Once concrete spalls were removed, galvanic anodes were distributed along the prepared concrete surface, and a GFRP reinforcing mesh was wrapped around the piers. The jacket was formed around the anodes and filled with a concrete grout to completely encapsulate the anodes and provide protection to the tidal zones of each pier. A bulk aluminum anode was also installed below the jacketed area to protect the reinforcing steel in the submerged portions of the pier. This system was designed to provide 25 year service life extension for the bridge’s piers.
