San Rafael Bridge Piling Coatings

Name: Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge)
Owner: State of California
Location: San Francisco, CA
Project Type: Coating Concrete Pilings
Products: Primer 28 and RSP-AL
Date: June 2004 thru July 2005

The bridge, first constructed in 1956, was in need of a seismic retrofitting due to its location in the earthquake prone Bay area. Muehlhan Certified Coatings, formerly Certified Coatings of California, was awarded the refurbishing task and subsequently selected Primer 28 and RSP-AL for coating of the concrete doughnut pilings supporting the bridge.

The challenge was to apply a durable protective coating to the bridge supports between high tide times. Primer 28 was applied to the wet concrete as a base coat. RSP-AL was then added as a topcoat.

Several months following the application, a cargo vessel struck the piling, damaging the vessel and the piling. Photos reveal the integrity of the coating was unaffected as the coating held fast to the concrete allowing 1,000 pound plus pieces of concrete to dangle from the piling.