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Freyssinet International , Paris , France
Freyssinet Spain , Madrid , Spain
Freyssinet Serbia Serbia
As many cable stayed bridges built in the 1960s reach the end of their original service life, replacing aging stay cable systems has become a major challenge for infrastructure owners. Corrosion, obsolete protection systems, and modern durability requirements drive the need to upgrade these structures with high performance cables. Freyssinet has developed strong expertise in this field, combining advanced engineering, dedicated equipment, and rigorous risk management. This paper presents Freyssinet’s approach through recent projects such as the Hooghly River Bridge, the Galecopper Bridge, and the Marqués de Zafra footbridge. These cases highlight two main challenges: integrating modern cable systems into structures designed for older technologies, and safely managing detensioning operations despite uncertainties about existing cable conditions. Freyssinet addressed these issues by engineering tailored solutions, including redundancy systems, controlled detensioning methods, and the installation of durable, replaceable parallel strand systems. This methodology ensures safe cable replacement while preserving structural integrity and minimizing user impact.
This paper is fully self-funded by Freyssinet.
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