Study and Renovation of Historical Masonry Arch Bridge

The aim of this research was the investigation of the properties of clay brick masonry arch bridge materials with a purpose of finding the best methods for reconstruction and renovation of the structure. The restoration, reconstruction and upgrading of historical heritage bridges require a careful investigation of materials and causes of damages. In many cases, the use of incorrect composition of joint mortar and clayed brick may lead to unfavourable result. It is important to ensure the natural water migration in historic masonry as it should not be interrupted after restoration or reconstruction measures performed. As an example the results of investigations and upgrading of historical clayed brick masonry bridge over the Venta River in Kuldiga town in Latvia had been analyzed. During the long lifetime and pro-active maintenance polity, the bridge had a lot of damages that could affect its further service life. For geometrical data collection laser scanning method was used that ensures sufficiently accurate data for reconstruction design, as well as the information for architectural investigation. Three-dimensional scanning of the heritage structure using 3D laser scanners allows the further transformation of information into the surface mesh model. This paper presents results of the investigation, and design of restoration and reconstruction works.