Skip to main content

New bridge surfacing

A new wearing course applied by Bolidt on the entire eastern section of the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam is helping improve the surface for road users. The bridge forms an important link in the centre of the city of Rotterdam and using its equipment Bolidt was able to apply 3,000m2 of new wearing course on Erasmus Bridge in 4 hours. The Rotterdam authorities commissioned Bolidt again after the previous surface the firm applied, its Bridgedeck Up product, lasted over a decade. This time the work was carried o
February 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Using Bolidt's technology to resurface a Rotterdam bridge cut installation time
A new wearing course applied by 2291 Bolidt on the entire eastern section of the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam is helping improve the surface for road users. The bridge forms an important link in the centre of the city of Rotterdam and using its equipment Bolidt was able to apply 3,000m2 of new wearing course on Erasmus Bridge in 4 hours. The Rotterdam authorities commissioned Bolidt again after the previous surface the firm applied, its Bridgedeck Up product, lasted over a decade. This time the work was carried out using a machine developed by Bolidt, speeding installation.

Although the previous wearing course was still intact, the decision to replace it was made as part of a maintenance operation. Over one weekend, the entire eastern section of the bridge was resurfaced with a new wearing course and lining. The work was carried out in less than 36 hours due to the equipment used and this high productivity was of key importance as Rotterdam has a heavy traffic load and a prolonged closure would have resulted in serious congestion.

The Bolimix machine was developed by Bolidt originally for the application of wearing courses on concrete bases. The Erasmus Bridge has a steel base, which requires a different type of wearing course and Bolidt had to adapt the machine especially for the work. Exchangeable tanks, allowing a short conversion time, were made to achieve this. Where in the past it was necessary to have several days of dry weather, this has now been reduced to approximately 1.5 days. After the wearing course has been applied, rain no longer forms a hindrance.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • The Lessons of the Genoa bridge collapse
    April 23, 2019
    The partial collapse of the Polcevera viaduct, better known as the Morandi Bridge, has prompted debate regarding the technical and administrative aspects of maintaining road infrastructures. We discussed it with the engineer Gabriele Camomilla, former Director of Research and Maintenance of the Società Autostrade, who coordinated the only major structural intervention performed on the bridge, carried out in the early 1990s
  • Historic Oakland Bay Bridge receives a new asphalt road surface
    March 31, 2014
    Part of an iconic US bridge has been given a new lease of life, as Mike Woof reports The western section of the historic Oakland Bay Bridge in the US state of California has recently benefited from a series of improvements to strengthen its structural integrity and also upgrade the running surface. Contractor OC Jones & Sons of Berkeley CA, paved large portions of the bridge, taking on two different projects as part of the work. First was placement of the specialised epoxy on the self-anchored suspension (S
  • Ground penetrating radar used to investigate tunnel deterioration
    May 13, 2015
    Using ground penetrating radar to determine reason for serious pavement settling in Kentucky-Tennessee tunnel Just a few years after the opening of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, highway officials noticed moderate to severe settling of the continuously reinforced concrete pavement. The mountain tunnel provides an important link between Kentucky and Tennessee along US25E and the problem looked serious, with many voids discovered beneath the pavement surface. To investigate the problems, the Kentucky Transpor
  • Developments in noise-reducing road surfaces
    February 17, 2012
    Mixtures with special additives are being produced for roads, offering noise reduction and aiding recycling. Patrick Smith reports. Noise-reducing road surfacings have been used in motorway construction for some time. But relatively new are noise-optimised surfacings used on roads in towns that do not follow a standard concept.Road trials with these materials have taken place in Germany since 2007 and have been prioritised due to the European Union Guidelines on the Assessment and Management of Environmenta