Introduction
St Luke’s Church of England School has been at its current location since 2006. The approximate 40m span footbridge serves as pedestrian access to the school site, over a busy main road. Mounted on precast concrete columns, the steel footbridge also boasts bow arched steel work as an architectural feature. Stairs and ramps take pedestrians onto the steel bridge which had a failed surface in need of replacement.
The challenge
The construction of the bridge deck consists of precast concrete columns and beams supporting a structural metal deck. Triflex working with authorised contractor Concrete Repairs Limited (CRL) undertook survey of the footbridge to review its waterproofing, surfacing and protection. The existing surface appeared to be a liquid coating applied to the majority of the bridge deck which showed signs of staining, as well as degradation. Water ingress and corrosion to the underside of the metal deck was also apparent below. Ponding water was evident in some areas too.
The solution
Due to the nature of required repairs, the existing coating and underlying substrates were removed by enclosed shot blasting. Additional preparation processes could then be conducted to remove any corrosion, contamination or localised high spots to the surfaces. The Triflex bespoke project specification proposed the Triflex ProFloor system.
Rapidly curing, the PMMA resin based system could be quickly installed across the area. The Triflex Metal Primer was immediately installed post enclosed captive shot blasting and as this also readily cures, ensured exposure time to the elements was minimal. Triflex ProFloor with Triflex Quartz was installed onto the main bridge deck and stair treads, providing a secure surface for pedestrians.
In addition, bright yellow nosing’s provided demarcation of the stair treads further enhancing pedestrian safety. The whole project was completed within 4 weeks by CRL, with all works carried out to a high standard.
