Renovation of the cathodic protection system

The first system for Cathodic Protection of concrete in the Netherlands was applied to a one bicycle lane of a bridge suffering corrosion due to de-icing salt penetration in 1986. This CP system was based on the Ferex 100S conducting polymer cable anode in a cementitious overlay. Its functioning was investigated in 1998, which showed that some of the electrical connections, the power supplies and the reference electrodes were defective. On the other hand, the Ferex anode was in good condition after 12 years of operation. This allowed renovation of the system in 1999 for limited cost. The other bicycle lane of the same bridge, which was repaired conventionally in 1986, showed major corrosion damage and had to be replaced by a steel deck, at considerably higher cost.