Bridge hardening_definition_general concept

[LCid]

What would be the best, concise definition of "bridge hardening"? Or, in other words, when used in general terms what is "bridge hardening". Though a civil engineer, this not my field. Thank you.

 

[Qshake]

I think there has been a question of this raised once before and probably in this forum. You should do a search for it.

Bridge hardening can be retrofitting a bridge to new loads or to new criteria. For example bridge hardening would apply to increasing a bridge's capacity to resist earthquakes and or blast.

Rehabilitation is strengthening a bridge to resist the loads it was designed to but had fallen in disrepair.



Regards,
Qshake

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[LCid]

Qshake-thank you for your post.

 

[wiktor]

I think that nowadays this term is rather used to describe preparation of the bridge to resist any terrorist attack attempts. This will include placing of the shields around the cables or stays (spaced armor concept), or making it difficult to access some vital points, or placing video monitoring or motion detectors in specific areas.
During the design of the new bridge, some of these features could be easily incorporated in the general concept.
I've noted some bridge hardening projects already completed, or nearing completion in the NYC metro area.