Reinforced concrete for infrastructure requires a service life up to 100 years. The infrastructures are widely exposed to atmospheric detrimental agents, such water, wind, humidity, temperature, CO2 and chlorides. The combination of cyclic exposure, geographical orientation and human-related activities, such as salt spreading during the winter in locations 500 m above the sea level, promotes the degradation and corrosion. Bridge curbs are subjected to salty solutions and carbonation. The polymer-based coatings are often applied to reduce chloride penetration in concrete. Nonetheless, several bridge curbs revealed a premature degradation, with cracking and layer detachment of the polymer coatings after a short time ranging from 2 to 15 years. The rapid damage was not directly related to the number of layers in the coating system. The type of polymer, such as acrylic materials, exhibited an accelerated damage and peeling off the surface layer. The coarse or inhomogeneous granulometry of the substrate, concrete or repair mortars, as well as the application technique also contributed to the variable thickness of the layers. In this case, the coating system showed a reduced durability. Not rarely, the curbs exposed to the South side were highly exposed to a cyclic temperature variation and were more damaged. On the other hand, the partial coating of the curb did not increase the deterioration speed. The mineral addition within the polymer-coated layers did not always increase the long-term resistance. Polymer-based coatings exhibited a highly variable resistance with a trend towards a life span well below 10 years. The systems were also sensitive to the application technique. This fact requires a more careful application or a frequent restoration, especially in altitude in the presence of the frost action. In this regard, the polymer-based coatings on concrete curbs rise some questions about the effective long-term protection of such reinforced concrete elements.