Luiz Bandeira Bridge: Assessment of a Historical Reinforced Concrete (RC) Bridge

The Luiz Bandeira Bridge is located along the Portuguese national road EN333-3, breaching the valley of the Vouga River, just northeast of the small village Sejães, in the district of Oliveira de Frades. It is considered to be the oldest concrete bridge in use in Portugal, and one of the oldest in Europe. Since this bridge is at risk of disappearing due to a construction of a dam, the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Minho decided to launch a comprehensive study of Luiz Bandeira Bridge, in an attempt to preserve the memory of the past cataloguing the heritage for future reference. These studies include historical, geometric, and damage surveys; the physical and chemical characterization of existing structural materials; the assessment of the reinforcement detailing; and dynamic characterization by determining the main frequencies and vibration modes and safety level. This work presents a comprehensive overview of the most important results of these studies.