Over the past several years, repairing the local highway network, along its course, the width of the road and subbase, has meant that countless bridges (walls, large culverts, bridges, etc.) remained out of service because of the need to improve the traced routes, or, because the level of deterioration was such that its restoration was no longer economically viable. In spite of the above, restoring and upgrading a large proportion of small bridges that are still in acceptable condition for current needs would be a very positive step because they represent living testimony to civil engineering at the time. The physical maintenance of arch bridges, of one or more stonework bays, ashlar masonry, and other stone materials, require imaginative formulae for widening its floor, as well as upgrading the rest of its parts to support heavier loads, for which these bridges had not been originally designed. Bridges, such as those of the famous engineer E. Ribera, arch bridges with an upper deck, and those of the Marquis of Zafra, with a deck in the form of p, have been widened and reinforced, given that there are just so many of them along local highways. This paper deals with the experiences of one local administrations highway department, the Regional Government of Valencia, where a bridge construction and rehabilitation programme has included several of the types mentioned . (A)
Samenvatting