CINTEC International a world leader in structural masonry retrofit
strengthening, repair, and preservation, offers the award-winning
Archtec bridge reinforcement system. Archtec is a diagnostic design and
installation service, utilizing sophisticated technology and drilling
methods designed to strengthen masonry arch bridges while maintaining
historical integrity.
The Archtec process involves numerical modeling and simulation of the loading regime in order to specify a retrofitted reinforcing system. A computer model then determines the load carrying capacity. At the site, the CINTEC Anchor System is inserted into holes bored from either the road surface or beneath the bridge. Then a developed grout is injected, fusing with the mesh, expanding, and shaping to fit the wall’s spaces. Archtec preserves the bridge’s historical features without impacting the natural environment. Archtec is economically superior to other reinforcement methods, and can be completed with little traffic delays.
Archtec is used on masonry arch bridges worldwide. Archtec aided in restoring the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge in Washington D.C. According to a 2005 article by Christy Darden and Thomas Scott, published in Federal Highway Administration, Public Roads Magazine, the bridge was designed in 1831 to carry horse-and-cart trade across the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Today, the structure carries the loads of an urban bridge—9,400 vehicles per day.
After an inspection and load rating analysis, it was determined that the bridge couldn’t support vehicle loads at the minimum live load of HS20 recommended by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which is 32.7 metric tons (36 tons).
In 2001, the National Park Service, who owns the bridge, explored methods for strengthening the bridge, while preserving its historical integrity. The NPS team selected the Archtec system in 2004 and was able to strengthen the oldest bridge in Washington, D.C. in less than 3 weeks.
“We hadn’t seen the technology before,” says Karen LeBlanc, communications specialist with the District Department of Transportation. “This was an engineering feat. We took other engineers out to view the process because it was so innovative.”
Before the strengthening project, the weight restriction was posted at 22.7 metric tons (25 tons), according to an inspection report from 1997. After the renovation, the rating is HS25, or 40.8 metric tons (45 tons) under AASHTO guidelines.
CINTEC was awarded the 2002 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation and received two U.K. Historic Bridge Awards and an Engineering Excellence Award from The Institution of Engineers, Australia in 2001.
The Archtec process involves numerical modeling and simulation of the loading regime in order to specify a retrofitted reinforcing system. A computer model then determines the load carrying capacity. At the site, the CINTEC Anchor System is inserted into holes bored from either the road surface or beneath the bridge. Then a developed grout is injected, fusing with the mesh, expanding, and shaping to fit the wall’s spaces. Archtec preserves the bridge’s historical features without impacting the natural environment. Archtec is economically superior to other reinforcement methods, and can be completed with little traffic delays.
Archtec is used on masonry arch bridges worldwide. Archtec aided in restoring the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge in Washington D.C. According to a 2005 article by Christy Darden and Thomas Scott, published in Federal Highway Administration, Public Roads Magazine, the bridge was designed in 1831 to carry horse-and-cart trade across the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Today, the structure carries the loads of an urban bridge—9,400 vehicles per day.
After an inspection and load rating analysis, it was determined that the bridge couldn’t support vehicle loads at the minimum live load of HS20 recommended by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which is 32.7 metric tons (36 tons).
In 2001, the National Park Service, who owns the bridge, explored methods for strengthening the bridge, while preserving its historical integrity. The NPS team selected the Archtec system in 2004 and was able to strengthen the oldest bridge in Washington, D.C. in less than 3 weeks.
“We hadn’t seen the technology before,” says Karen LeBlanc, communications specialist with the District Department of Transportation. “This was an engineering feat. We took other engineers out to view the process because it was so innovative.”
Before the strengthening project, the weight restriction was posted at 22.7 metric tons (25 tons), according to an inspection report from 1997. After the renovation, the rating is HS25, or 40.8 metric tons (45 tons) under AASHTO guidelines.
CINTEC was awarded the 2002 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation and received two U.K. Historic Bridge Awards and an Engineering Excellence Award from The Institution of Engineers, Australia in 2001.
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