Validation of Rehabilitation Strategies to Extend the Service Life of Concrete Bridge Decks

Currently, the standard service life of a highway bridge deck is considered to be 40 years or less, while the standard design life for a highway bridge is 75 years. Deck replacement options, particularly for post-tensioned box girders commonly used in California, have been difficult, unreliable and expensive. Preserving decks in good condition for as long as possible by applying timely and sound rehabilitation strategies will provide the extended service life needed in our bridge decks making deck replacement unnecessary. Deck rehabilitation strategies utilized in California to extend the life of the deck range from applying HMWM to fill deck cracks, to removal of the top several inches of deck concrete and recasting the partial deck section with PCC or polyester concrete, or in some cases to placing a new deck constructed on top of the old deck. These strategies have been both successful in extending the service life of the deck and have in other cases failed rather rapidly. There are numerous variables that may contribute to early failure of a rehabilitated bridge deck. These variables include environmental conditions, construction practices, as well as the physical design properties of the deck. Through this research, many of the variables may be eliminated and a side by side comparison of strategies and timing can be better evaluated. Are current bridge deck rehabilitation and preservation strategies effective in extending the service life of highway bridge decks in the State of California?

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $398537.00
• Sponsor Organizations:

  California Department of Transportation

  1227 O Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95843
• Project Managers:

  Sahs, Steve

• Performing Organizations:

  Western Transportation Institute

  Montana State University, Bozeman
  P.O. Box 174250
  Bozeman, MT  United States  59717-4250
• Principal Investigators:

  Cuelho, Eli

• Start Date: 20081001
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20120630
• Source Data: RiP Project 22787

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Box girder bridges; Bridge decks; Concrete bridges; Posttensioning; Rehabilitation; Service life; Validation
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01466265
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: California Department of Transportation
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 3 2013 3:13PM