Failure of a corroded pile closed Larivot bridge and divided French Guiana

The Larivot highway bridge is 1225m long and carries a two-lane road over the Cayenne tidal river in the department of French Guiana. Following the discovery in November 2009 of a failed pile, which raised fears of the collapse of a pier, the bridge was closed to traffic. This paper describes the highlights of this operation and draws lessons for the design and management of similar structures.