Highway 616 Over Highway 2 FRP Repair

OVERVIEW

The Highway 616 overpass crosses over Highway 2 near Millet, Alberta. Highway 2, the main corridor connecting the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, is a main thoroughfare for commuters and cargo transportation. A fire ignited under the overpass, damaging multiple sections of previously installed fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) and leaving the structure below its previously designed capacities. Because both Highway 616 and Highway 2 are under the control of the Alberta Ministry of Transportation, all materials and construction plans had to fall under the guidelines held by the Ministry. The Tyfo® system was designed by Fyfe Co. and approved by the Alberta Ministry of Transportation and the engineer of record, Most Engineering Ltd. The FRP materials have been approved by the Alberta Ministry of Transportation on previous installations over the Highway 616 overpass. In this instance, both Tyfo® SCH-41 2X and SEH 51-A materials were designed and installed to confine and protect the concrete repairs done on the columns, girders, pier beams and localized stirrup repair. The girders were also reinforced for shear and flexural reinforcement to replace the previously installed FRP damaged by the fire.

The Fyfe® design was based on replacing the equivalent tensile capacities of the damaged FRP system as well as adding additional strength to areas that were unreinforced in the original retrofit. Without the need for heavy equipment, the highway could stay functional by only blocking off a single lane at a time to perform the extensive clean up of fire damaged material and soot that covered most of the structure. Being able to keep highway functional while repairs were taking place as well as the low profile of composite strengthening was a major contributor to FRP being the best solution for this situation. These factors made this design a practical and cost-effective way to repair.

Fyfe has thoroughly vetted and tested its Tyfo® system, thereby gaining ICC-ES ESR approvals for the following applications:

• Column – confinement of concrete repairs
• Pier beams – confinement of concrete repairs
• Girders – confinement of concrete repairs, shear reinforcement and flexural reinforcement

For the Highway 616 overpass project, the Alberta Ministry of Transportation approved the Tyfo® SCH and Tyfo® SEH systems, uni-directional carbon and glass FRP materials for use in their structures. Additionally, Fyfe supported the installation contractor, Polycrete Restorations Ltd., and the engineer of record with specialized design services including non-typical geometry detailing for uni-directional material.