The Beez Viaduct Namur
Introduction
The Beez Viaduct officially opened in 1973. It stands at a height of 42m and is 551 m long. This steel and concrete construction carries approximately 68,000 vehicles over the river Maas every day.
In 2013 the Walloon authorities and Sofico (Walloon Infrastructures management) launched a series of renovation and repair works that included painting the Beez Viaduct.
APAC
Sofico and the Walloon authorities specified that the work obtained the 10 year APAC quality warranty.
Principal Contractors
The Sofico and the Walloon authorities engaged the Apruzzese PLC-Rinaldi PLC consortium to carry out the paint work.
Project Considerations
The Beez viaduct is often shrouded in mist and fog.
Other corrosive environmental factors include the continuous flow of the Maas River and the daily rumble of thousands of vehicles.
The viaduct remained operational at all times.
Preparation
A waste recovery basket was built specially for these works.
The steel surface was shot blasted SA 2.5.
Four-fold protection
To provide lasting protection against corrosion, the Apruzzese-Rinaldi Consortium coating teams used four different coatings.
- Hot metallization coat (by spraying).
- A primary paint coat.
- Iron oxide pigmented interlayer.
- The finishing coat protecting against environmental elements such as UV radiation, haze, fog, ice etc.
Inspection Procedure & Technical Checks
To meet the terms and conditions for the APAC guarantee, Vinçotte carried out independent technical checks on site 2-3 times per week.
All the major corrosion factors were examined. Vinçotte not only checked the reaction of the paint system against external factors such as humidity and ambient temperature.
The metallisation, sandblasting, thickness, strength and thoroughness of the coating layers were also tested.
Summary
“With the APAC guarantee, the Apruzzese-Rinaldi Consortium demonstrated the effectiveness and sustainability of its paint system. Sofico can be assured that the Beez viaduct will be 100% corrosion resistant in the coming years. Mist or no mist!”
Manuel Pineiro Vasquez, Vinçotte
