The Confederation Bridge

One of the most severe environments that concrete structures can experience is that of marine exposure in northern, temperate regions. The concrete will be subjected to freeze–thaw cycles, wave action, cycles of wetting and drying, ice abrasion and chemical attack by seawater. For such structures to have an extended service life, careful attention must be paid to all phases of the project, including proper structural design, choice of materials, concrete mix design, mixing, placing and curing of the concrete and appropriate post-construction monitoring. The 12.9-km-long Confederation Bridge, which links the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, is the longest in the world crossing ice-covered water. It provides an excellent example of how this can be achieved.