Bridge decks and overlays

Abstract

The report presents a historical perspective of the transportation cabinet's bridge deck construction and maintenance efforts directed toward increasing bridge deck durability. Bridge decks crack in specific patterns that primarily depend upon bridge designs. Normal deck cracking is due to load induced and thermal effects. Each type of cracking has a distinct pattern. One hundred and nineteen experimental bridge deck overlays were inspected. Included were 9 membrane bridges, 87 latex concrete overlays and 23 low slump overlays. The overlays had been placed originally on both new and existing bridge decks on various routes throughout the state. Most of the overlays were rated in good to excellent condition. None of the overlay methods was discernibly superior to the others. Thirty four integral abutment bridges were inspected. Nearly all of those bridges are in good to very good condition. Only one bridge had a problem caused by settlement (a).