MAJOR motorway bridges built in the 1960s used a new form of fine ground cement which made a very strong concrete. Engineers welcomed this new material but did not recognise at the time that rapid setting formed micro cracks which allowed water to penetrate and corrode the steel reinforcement.
The cement used in Genoa would not be unique to Italy. It was used widely throughout the construction industry including the UK.
This may not be the cause of the Genoa collapse ("Prosecutor blames ‘human error’ for Italy’s bridge disaster", The Herald, August 16) but bridge authorities must find ways to check the condition of steel reinforcement and tendons in mass concrete structures built during the 1960s motorway building era.
Mike Rayworth,
The Steadings, Invercreran, Appin, Argyll.
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