Current bridge deck rehabilitation practices : use and effectiveness

Approximately thirty to forty percent of all bridges across North America have some form of deterioration on them. Many organizations/agencies across North America are investing significant amounts of money on repairing and rehabilitating their bridges. The reason being, these bridges are deteriorating due to heavy use (overloading from today's oversized trucks), old age (many built in late 1950s and 1960s) and environmental and chemical attacks (deicing salt applications during the winter season). The purpose of this thesis concentrated on one area, namely bridge decks. To better understand how these organizations/agencies were dealing with bridge deck deterioration, a survey containing thirteen questions was developed and sent out throughout North America, to Department of Transportation, Ministry of Transportation, Municipalities, Bridge Authorities and Consultants. The survey was made up of six parts, each focusing on different areas during a bridge rehabilitation/repair operation. Areas looked at were: Condition Surveys, Concrete Removal, Rehabilitation Techniques, Environmental Impacts and Service Life.