While many historic stone arch bridges are too narrow by modern traffic standards, there are several viable ways to non-destructively widen them.
Category Archives: Maintenance
Waterline Deterioration: The Achilles Heel of Limestone Bridges
The weakest point of a stone arch bridge of limestone is the waterline masonry, for it is prone to disintegrating in water.
Wing Walls: Importance and Repair
Wingwalls can be important to a stone arch bridge’s structural integrity. While easily damaged, numerous ways to repair or replace them exist.
Deteriorated Stones in a Bridge
Deteriorated stones in a stone arch bridge are almost inevitably a sign of water infiltrating into the structure and needs to be taken seriously.
3 Ways to Prevent Scour
There are several way to prevent scour, which is the worst enemy of stone arch bridges with shallow foundations as is common.
A Stone Arch Bridge’s Weight-Handling Abilities
The amount of weight a stone arch bridge can handle is related to a variety of factors including span, arch thickness, condition and more.
Distorted Arches
While a distorted arch in a stone bridge is not always a problem, it often points to an underlying serious trouble elsewhere within the structure.
The Life of a Stone Arch Bridge
The length of time a stone arch bridge lasts is directly related the workmanship and foundations, with various treatments extending the bridge’s life.
On Spandrel Walls
The spandrel walls hold the fill of a stone arch bridge, and need to be correctly engineered to do so without gradually bulging and failing.
Repair of Partially Collapsed Arches
Partially collapsed arches are repairable, though such repairs tend to be involved. Of course, the cause of the collapse needs to be remedied as well.
Stone Arch Bridges 