Strengthening of Structural Members

Rio Lima Bridge, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

Opened to the public in 1878, this landmark in the northern Portuguese costal town of Viana do Castelo was designed and built by A.G. Eiffel. Strengthening of this ten span, 562 m long steel bridge with two main truss beams of 7,5 m depth was necessary to adapt its load-bearing capacity to modern road and railroad traffic.

Construction measures had to be carried out without impairing the characteristic architecture. The consultant decided to install tension ties in every span. These run parallel to the bottom chords and are lifted up diagonally to the top chords above the piers. The forces are introduced into the structure through Ø32mm DYWIDAG smooth bars. Deflection points and coupling splices of the bars were installed simply and economically.