Let’s Start Our Conversation…

ed lorellaThe purpose of this blog, “A Conversation about Bridge Preservation”, is to speak about bridge preservation in an open and informal way, thus reaching the general public in addition to the specialists. TSP2 believes in the value of exchanging opinions, ideas and experiences between people who have a stake in bridge preservation or simply are passionate about it.

The writers, Ed Welch and Lorella Angelini, are two civil engineers who share a strong commitment to increasing awareness of bridge preservation within and beyond the construction industry.

Ed is from the Northeast and after a long career as the New Hampshire DOT Bridge Maintenance Engineer, is now the Bridge Preservation Engineer for the AASHTO-TSP2 Program facilitated @ MSU. Lorella is an independent consultant who lives in Minneapolis. She has decades of experience with manufacturers of specialty products in the area of concrete repair and protection..

During the next months, we will be covering two topics; the value of NTPEP (National Transportation Product Evaluation Program) for bridge preservation and the importance of Communicating the Value of Bridge Preservation.  Feel free to suggest any other topics you would like to explore!

Stay tuned for an interview with Drew Storey and Jeremy Hunter of Indiana DOT.

6 thoughts on “Let’s Start Our Conversation…

  1. The Blog Working Group has several topics in mind that we will be blogging on (Coatings, Decks, Performance Measures, Deterioration Modeling, QPLs, Performance Specs, Local Agency Outreach & Policies are a few). But, need your input so that we can add new topics and prioritize the list. Thanks for your perspective.
    ………………Ed

  2. Thank you for your comment, Kevin. Inspection and detection of concrete fatigue cracking are key topics for bridge preservation. You may be able to find information about these topics in the upcoming Research Road-map, a new tool that is going to be released in the TSP2 web site. From what I know, the Road-map is designed to collect documentation about bridge and pavement preservation research programs carried out since 2008.

    • It is common in the private sector for owners to require joint performance warranties from contractors and material suppliers for systems used in repair and protection of concrete, why is this concept less common for work on public projects ? More owners should utilize this tool to help achieve quality and long term service life

  3. I’m looking for more information about who and why use a primer coat before laying down an epoxy polymer overlay (2 coats epoxy plus two broadcasts)? ACI 503R and ACI 548.5 both discuss the advantages of using a ‘three-coat’ system, or a primer coat before laying epoxy but who really uses primer and is there really an advantage to using it?

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