A Study of Re-Decking Prestressed Girders Phase 1: State of Practice and Preliminary Analysis Recommendations

Kansas has a large inventory of prestressed concrete girder bridges. These prestressed girders commonly last considerably longer than cast-in-place bridge decks, as the girders are designed to have limited cracking and because road salts are applied directly to the bridge decks. Many of these prestressed concrete girder bridges will require one or more full-depth bridge deck replacements during their service-lives. Removing and replacing a bridge deck on a prestressed concrete girder bridge may require special analysis or precautions because: (1) the deck removal process can damage the prestressed concrete girders, and (2) bridge deck removal and replacement may affect prestress losses, camber, and internal stress demands over time as deformations due to creep of the new deck concrete and the older girder concrete interact. Without adequate understanding and oversight of the re-decking process, these effects might negatively impact the performance of prestressed girder bridges, resulting in lower load-carrying capacities and/or shorter service lives. This project will include a review of related literature, documentation of practices used by other state DOTs, and preliminary analyses aimed at assessing the potential immediate and long-term effects of full-depth bridge deck replacement. Project outcomes will provide Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) engineers with a better understanding of the state-of-the-practice and provide recommendations for the scope of analyses required prior to bridge deck replacement. If warranted, a related Phase II project including more in-depth analyses and/or field testing and monitoring of in-situ bridges will be pursued in the future to validate best practices and analysis recommendations.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Final report is pending review.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $73330
• Contract Numbers:

  K-TRAN: KU-22-1

  RE-0829-01

  C2193

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Kansas Department of Transportation

  Eisenhower State Office Building
  700 SW Harrison Street
  Topeka, KS  United States  66603-3754
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Kansas Center for Research, Incorporated

  2291 Irving Hill Drive, Campus West
  Lawrence, KS  United States  66045
• Principal Investigators:

  Collins, William

  Lequesne, Remy

• Start Date: 20210816
• Expected Completion Date: 20240731
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge construction; Bridge decks; Girder bridges; Prestressed concrete bridges; Repairing
• Geographic Terms: Kansas
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01832311
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Kansas Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: K-TRAN: KU-22-1, RE-0829-01, C2193
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 7 2022 12:54PM