IMPACT OF BRIDGE DECK CRACKING ON DURABILITY

This paper gives the purpose and background of a current Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) research project entitled Impact of Bridge Deck Cracking on Durability. Within this report, information is developed about the history of bridge deck deterioration and the use of epoxy coated rebars. Also, the procedures used to determine the impact of deck cracking on the condition of bridge structures evaluated in this project are described. Since the project has not yet been completed, conclusions and generalizations drawn from the research are only preliminary. Initial observations of the first 20 bridges evaluated have shown that the conditions of epoxy coated rebars at cracked locations can be much worse that whose at uncracked locations. This can be attributed to the fact that deck cracking allows chlorides to penetrate the surface of epoxy coated rebars. Since many defects were found in the epoxy coatings of rebars in this study, this makes the reinforcing steel susceptible to corrosion and deterioration.