STR-999: INTELLIGENT MONITORING SYSTEM REVEALS NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHAMPLAIN BRIDGE
The Champlain Bridge, constructed in 1957, is one of Canada’s busiest and most economically critical bridges. This 3.4km-long bridge consists of as many as 50 simply supported spans, 50 to 53 m long, plus an elevated truss structure over the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Each span has a cross-section of seven precast post-tensioned girders supporting cast-in-place infill strips that constitute a deck with six traffic lanes. Like many other structures, Champlain Bridge is subjected to environmental, traffic or hydrological loads, which adversely affect the structural condition of the bridge. This structural degradation is further accelerated for the Champlain Bridge due to Montreal’s cold climate, with snowfall and windy conditions, in addition to seasonal salting on the concrete deck. Consequently, structural degradation has been observed due to the corrosion of some of the post-tensioned strands in the main edge girders on the upstream and downstream side.