In the course of the major upgrading and extension of the highway networks in the
last fifty years, the use of post-tensioned concrete has been found to be an
economically competitive form of construction, this enabled concrete to be used for
bridges with significantly longer spans than was previously possible.
The paper briefly reviews the development of post-tensioned concrete bridges over
the last fifty years and difficulties encountered in Europe with building and
monitoring the bridges. The types and magnitude of problems as reported in several
countries will be reviewed. Discussion will be presented on certain methods of
investigating the in-situ condition of post-tensioning systems. The resulting
improvements in the quality of the investigations will be discussed.
The three-phase approach to Special Inspections is outlined and the findings of
research and site investigations discussed together with the implications for bridge
