Structural upgrading of a brick masonry arch bridge at the Lido (Venice)

In the framework of some maintenance works for the improvement of about 1 km of bank sides at the Lido (Venice), some repairs on the pedestrian and the vehicular bridges on the Excelsior canal were carried out. In particular, the upgrading of the brick masonry arch bridge “Sandro Gallo” is presented in this contribution. The S. Gallo bridge was built in the XIX century and is currently used as vehicular bridge. The repairs carried out on the bridge were mainly aimed at upgrading the bridge to the first category, according to the Italian code. The intervention consisted in the combination of traditional and innovative strengthening techniques. Some local repairs were made on the masonry arch. Its thickness was increased using a new layer of brick masonry, with bricks inserted as shear connectors between the old and new masonry, and its extrados was regularized for the application of CFRP laminates. For the upgrading, a reinforcement of the foundation by means of reinforced concrete beams resting on inclined and vertical micro-piles was designed. The beams, that are external with respect to the old foundations, were designed to be connected to both the new layer of masonry and the CFRP laminates. The main phases related to the design of the intervention and its realization are discussed.