Removal of the salt-contaminated concrete, patching and the application of waterproofing membranes are some of the possible treatments that, alone or in combination, have been traditionally used to rehabilitate corrosion-damaged infrastructure. However there are concerns about the effectiveness of only using such approach to mitigate reinforcement corrosion when the concrete is salt contaminated. Sacrificial cathodic protection using metallized zinc coatings is regarded by many as a possible rehabilitation alternative. In order to investigate it, seven reinforced concrete columns of a bridge in Montreal have been flame
sprayed with zinc. The zinc anode has delivered adequate levels of cathodic protection for more than 24 months. Although initially the sacrificial current provided by the metallized zinc decreased, it now appears to have stabilized to an acceptable level.