17-03 — Experiences in the Performance of Bridge Bearings And Expansion Joints Used For Highway Bridges

Original Scope: Damage related to bridge deck expansion joints in the United States costs agencies tens of millions of dollars each year. Damaged joints result in acceleration in deck deterioration as well as deterioration to the portion of the bridge beneath the opening that is exposed to debris and contaminants that leak through. Of specific concern below the joint in a bridge are the bridge’s bearings. A bearing assembly that is frozen or damaged due to deterioration caused by inadequate joints may overstress the bridge components below resulting in the need to implement an extremely costly repair to insure bridge safety and serviceability.

As little national work has been done in this area in almost 15 years, this scan facilitated the exchange of recent ideas and best practices for bridge bearings and expansion joint design, performance evaluation, maintenance and repair/reconstruction. Discussions included design, construction, maintenance and operations staff of state and other transportation agencies that have experienced good performance of their bridge joints and/or bearings. Details for various bridge types (i.e. materials, span arrangements, geometry) and sizes were examined.

Implementation and Impact

Following the scan workshop in March 2018, the scan team worked at the state, regional and national levels to advance scan findings. Highlights of these activities include:

Scan team presented findings at the TRB Committees on Bridge Preservation (AHD37), Concrete Bridges (AFF30); TRB Workshop 1080 entitled, Resilience, Safety, and Security of Bridges and Tunnels; AASHTO’s Committee on Bridges and Structures (and COBS Technical Committees, T-2 Bearings and Expansion Devices and T-20 Tunnels), the International Bridge Conference, and the Wester Bridge Engineers seminar.

The scan informed revisions to the Louisiana DOTD’s Bridge Design and Evaluation Manual. These revisions were focused Part II, Vol. I, Chapter 14 – Joints and Bearings. Bridge Design Technical Memorandum BDTM No. 82 describes the revisions.

TRB hosted a webinar based on the outcomes of this scan entitled, Bearing with Bridges – Bearings and Expansion Joints on Highway Bridges. To view the sides or to obtain a copy of the webinar recording, visit the webinar page on the National Academies website. 

Scan team members will continue to work within their own states and nationally to advance the findings of the scan as opportunities present themselves.

Scan Members

• Bijan Khaleghi, Washington State DOT, AASHTO Chair
• Zhengzheng “Jenny” Fu, Louisiana DOTD
• Ed Kestory, Florida DOT
• Ahmed N. Mongi, West Virginia DOT
• Rebecca Nix, Utah DOT
• Hormoz Seradj, Oregon DOT
• Rich Zeldenrust, Washington State DOT
• Jill Walsh, Technical Consultant, St. Martin’s University
• Linh Warren, FHWA
• John Stanton, Subject Matter Expert, University of Washington

Workshop Participants

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