Marco Rubeo
UK Country Technical Manager, FreyssinetMarco Rubeo MEng CEng MICE is Country Technical Manager at Freyssinet UK, with 25 years of international experience in structural engineering and construction. His career spans the full project lifecycle, from structural analysis and detailed design to construction engineering and hands-on site delivery across bridges, buildings, stadiums and complex structures. He worked with design consultancies, contractors and general contractors, developing extensive experience of site operations and construction methodologies.
His bridge experience includes design, assessment, strengthening, temporary works, as well as construction using heavy lifting and incremental launching techniques. Marco currently leads Freyssinet UK’s Technical Solutions Team, delivering practical and innovative engineering solutions for construction and infrastructure challenges.
My Sessions at Day 2
Thursday 11 March 2027
Holding Up the M8: Innovative Temporary Propping for the Woodside Viaducts' Deteriorated Half-Joints
The M8 Woodside Viaducts in Glasgow, built between 1969 and 1971, rely on reinforced concrete Gerber half-joints, several of which were recently found to have significant reinforcement deterioration. This talk explains how Freyssinet, working for Amey on behalf of Transport Scotland, designed and installed an emergency temporary support system to keep the motorway safely open while a permanent strengthening scheme is developed. The system had to work despite tight joint gaps, a ban on intrusive works to the post-tensioned precast beams, and utilities below that ruled out conventional propping.
- An unconventional load path: Each suspended span is jacked at both ends of every precast beam onto bespoke support assemblies. Spreading horizontal traffic forces across many interfaces removed any need to anchor into the existing structure.
- Bespoke components, validated by testing: The scheme uses a specially developed high-stiffness elastomeric bearing compound and bespoke jacks designed for carrying also significant horizontal load, both innovations were confirmed through laboratory testing.
