History, diagnosis and repair of the Corniche Kennedy in Marseilles

Abstract

The Corniche Kennedy is an emblematic road of the city of Marseilles in France. Located on the seafront, it was built in the 19th century and widened in the 1960s to create a corbelled pedestrian promenade. Its widening structure, made of slabs resting on corbels anchored in a retaining wall or on crossing structures, has been subjected for more than 60 years to a very aggressive marine environment and presents many damages. After having carried out the diagnosis of the structure, the Infrastructure Department of the Metropole of Aix-Marseille-Provence selected the engineers of the Setec Group to carry out the complete project management for the rehabilitation of the Corniche Kennedy. Between 2018 and 2022, the Corniche Kennedy underwent major rehabilitation work, using modern techniques to prevent and treat the main pathology of the structure, the corrosion. This article presents all the steps of the rehabilitation of the Corniche Kennedy from diagnosis to maintenance of the structure after renovation.