ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT The structural assessment and rehabilitation design of stone arch bridges of the Domodossola-Locarno railway are presented. Built between 1913 and 1923, the railway climbs the sides of a narrow valley on a terrain that required the construction of what, at the time, were challenging structures, among which many multi-span stone arch bridges. In 2013 SSIF S.p.A., in charge of the maintenance and management of the Italian side of the line, started implementing a plan that will end in 2021 and that will involve the detailed inspection and/or refurbishment of all the bridges under the company supervision. With reference to a sample of three stone arch bridges, this paper describes the most frequently recurring damages on this century-old structures, highlights the need for both a full seismic retrofit and a strengthening of the arch structures and presents the main criteria followed in the rehabilitation design.
