Bridge Deck Preservation Portal, Phase 1

Preservation actions performed on bridges or bridge elements extend their service life. The transportation networks are extensive and funds are limited. This requires agencies to find cost-effective strategies that keep as many existing bridges in good and fair condition. As such, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) funded a research study to develop a report demonstrating proof of concept and a future Request for Proposal to develop a web- or PC-based bridge deck preservation portal.

In this one-hour webinar, Dr. Mohamed ElBatanouny of WJE, Mr. James Nelson of Iowa DOT, and Mr. Raj Ailaney of FHWA discuss the completed Phase 1 of this research aimed to develop a framework for a bridge deck preservation tool that can help engineers at state and local departments of transportation choose the optimum preservation action for a given bridge deck.

By the end of the presentation, you will:

• Learn about the proposed tool and its five modules
• Review available maintenance actions for concrete, steel, and timber bridge decks, including service life and cost information
• Assess the innovative probabilistic algorithm developed to provide estimates for service life extension associated with the different maintenance actions 
• Evaluate the results of three example bridges from Oregon, Iowa, and North Carolina analyzed using a preliminary MATLAB tool that was developed to test the logic proposed in this effort.