BRIDGE DECK CONDITION SURVEY

FORTY-FIVE STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS (BRIDGE TYPE, AGE, DESIGN SPECIFICATION, TRAFFIC DENSITY, ETC.) AND 13 DECK-CONDITION VARIABLES (DEGREE AND EXTENT OF SCALING, CRACKING, DELAMINATION, GENERAL DECK CONDITION, ETC.) WERE IN TABLES SHOWING FREQUENCY AND PERCENTAGE OF POURS UNDER EACH CONDITION AND WERE APPRAISED FOR STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION. A RELATIVE FREQUENCY TABLE WAS PREPARED FOR COMBINATIONS SHOWING REAL ASSOCIATION. THE STUDY REVEALED THAT SCALING IS ENHANCED BY DEICING SALT AND IS MARKEDLY REDUCED IN AIR-ENTRAINED CONCRETE. THERE IS CONSIDERABLE LONGITUDINAL CRACKING IN PAN-FORMED BRIDGES BUT IT IS PREDOMINATELY TRANSVERSE IN OTHER TYPES. DECKS SUPPORTED ON STEEL BEAMS ARE MORE SEVERELY DETERIORATED THAN THOSE SUPPORTED BY CONCRETE BEAMS. THERE IS ONLY A SLIGHT ADVANTAGE FOR CENTRAL-MIXED CONCRETE OVER TRANSIT-MIXED CONCRETE. THE DECKS WITH THE NORMAL TYPE CROWN SHOW LESS DETERIORATION THAN THOSE WITH CONSTANT SLOPE CROWN. BRIDGES WITH HIGHER TRAFFIC DENSITY SHOW A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF SEVERE DETERIORATION THAN THOSE WITH LOW TRAFFIC DENSITY; BUT HIGHER TRAFFIC DENSITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEWER BRIDGES BUILT UNDER MORE RECENT DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS. BRIDGES CARRYING GREATER WHEEL LOADS APPEAR TO BE IN BETTER CONDITION THAN THOSE WITH LIGHTER LOADS BUT AGE IS A FACTOR HERE. LESS CRACKING AND SCALING OF DECKS APPEARS IN BRIDGES WHERE THE CONCRETE MIX INCLUDES RETARDING AND WATER REDUCING ADMIXTURES. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY. /FHWA/

• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System, 1600 E Lamar Boulevard
  Arlington, TX  United States  76011

  Texas State Department of Highways & Public Transp

  11th and Brazos Streets
  Austin, TX  United States  78701

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Darroch, J G
  • Furr, H L
• Publication Date: 1970-5

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Air entrained concrete; Beams; Bridge decks; Bridges; Concrete; Concrete mixing; Deicing chemicals; Fracture mechanics; Longitudinal cracking; Ready mixed concrete; Statistical analysis; Steel structures; Traffic volume; Transverse cracking; Wheel loads
• Uncontrolled Terms: Concrete beams; Scaling
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Data and Information Technology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00207983
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Mar 7 1971 12:00AM