Alexandra Road Bridge built to impress

• Name

  Durable, aesthetically attractive protective coating

• Country

  Ireland, 2022

• Fields of Expertise

  Bridge

• Categories

  Surface Protection

• Products

  MC-Color Primer
  MC-Color Flex pro

Dublin Port is the largest cargo and passenger port in Ireland. And the Dublin Port Company (DPC), a state-owned commercial enterprise, is responsible for the operation and development of this important transshipment hub. In 2020, the DPC prepared plans to connect two dockyard areas with a new bridge over Alexandra Road. The project involved the construction of a 150 m long and 13 m wide two-lane vehicular overpass with access ramps, to be used exclusively for port-related commercial and service traffic. Darmody Architects was commissioned to design the structure, taking into account the industrial heritage of the port and its connection to the city of Dublin and its inhabitants. Thus the key elements of the bridge came into being: a central span finished in a bold red to match the Poolbeg lighthouse in Dublin Bay, adorned with a pattern reminiscent of the waterfront.

High-quality surface protection with the MC-Color system

The long-established construction company John Sisk & Son was engaged as the project‘s general contractor, and the application of the protection system was finally entrusted to Silcon Systems. Corrosion Solutions & Inspection Services were also called in as consultants to advise on matters relating to corrosion protection and protective coatings. All these companies have been working successfully with MC for many years. In order to provide the bridge with permanent protection while ensuring that the aesthetic effect of the structure is maintained for years to come, the highly flexible surface protection system MC-Color Flex pro was used. MC’s system has often shown that it can withstand the aggressive weather conditions of a marine environment and effectively bridge any micro-cracks in the concrete, thus extending the life of the structures involved. In addition, it is available in a wide range of colours and was therefore also able to meet the specification of exactly matching the Poolbeg lighthouse’s red shade.

Savings and benefits from beginning to end

The surface protection coating system in the form of MC-Color Primer and two coats of MC-Color Flex pro was applied to the bridge in the summer of 2021. The highly flexible MC-Color Flex pro coating provides excellent crack-bridging concrete protection for outdoor surfaces exposed to the elements and at the same time prevents the growth of algae, thus guarding against staining and ageing effects. An additional application benefit is the short wait between coats, which, unlike conventional systems, allows the application of multiple coats in a single layer, offering significant time and cost savings. In contrast to conventional systems, MC-Color Primer needs just one hour to dry rather than the usual eight or more. This meant that the first coat of MC-Color Flex pro could be applied very quickly after the primer, thus again saving a lot of time.

In summary, it can be said that the decision in favour of MC-Color Flex pro was due to a number of compelling attributes: the crack-bridging properties of the product, the speed of application between coats, the low dirt pick-up inherent in the system, the integrated greening protection, tangible cost efficiency, compliance with the specifications contained in EN 1504 Part 2 – and last but not least, the track record of MC systems successfully used on thousands and thousands of square metres of Irish transport infrastructure in the course of more than 40 years.