Although the substructures and superstructures of bridges in Utah are in relatively good structural condition, the bridge decks are experiencing observable deterioration due to the routine application of deicing salts and repeated freeze-thaw cycling. This manual describes condition assessment methods and threshold values that may be used to determine whether rehabilitation or replacement of a given bridge deck is more appropriate when the severity and extent of deterioration warrant deck improvement. Threshold values given in the manual are based on a questionnaire survey conducted of state departments of transportation nationwide, as well as on standards and guidelines published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and Strategic Highway Research Program.

" TRB's second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-R06A-RR-1: Nondestructive Testing to Identify Concrete Bridge Deck Deterioration identifies nondestructive testing technologies for detecting and characterizing common forms of deterioration in concrete bridge decks.The report also documents the validation of promising technologies, and grades and ranks the technologies based on results of the validations.The main product of this project will be an electronic repository for practitioners, known as the NDToolbox, which will provide information regarding recommended technologies for the detection of a particular deterioration. " -- publisher's description.

Recently developed corrosion-resistant reinforcing structural design guidelines were used to design, construct, and assess a reinforced concrete bridge deck with high-strength ASTM A1035 CS steel bars. The bridge replacement is located along the North Scenic Highway over the Wolf Creek in Bland County, Virginia. The bridge deck design used the higher yield stress available from ASTM A1035 CS steel to replace No. 5 bars with No. 4 bars that saved 23% by weight of steel in the deck and reduced reinforcement bar congestion, especially near the traffic barrier-bridge deck splice. The material cost savings was also 23% compared to a standard Virginia Department of Transportation bridge deck since the bars were bid as a cost per unit weight. The Wolf Creek Bridge deck surface (i.e., cracks, slope, and surface profile) was documented using an automated computer vision system assembled with off-the-shelf cameras that accurately surveyed the bridge deck in less than 10 minutes, providing a high resolution 3D digital state model before and after the bridge was opened to traffic. The bridge deck is in excellent condition after 2 months in service, with only one crack of 0.004 in observed near a construction joint. The study concluded that concrete bridge decks can be designed with No. 4 bars and constructed considering the structural benefits of gradually yielding, high-strength ASTM A1035 CS reinforcement bars with satisfactory in-service performance and some cost savings.

Several evaluation techniques were employed to assess concrete bridge deck condition, including visual inspection, hammer sounding and chaining, dielectric measurements, ground-penetrating radar imaging, resistivity testing, half-cell potential testing, and chloride concentration testing. The condition assessment testing confirmed that chloride-induced corrosion of reinforcing steel is the primary mechanism of deck deterioration and that inadequate cover over the upper steel mat facilitated accelerated corrosion damage in many instances. The bridge deck condition analyses produced from the results of non-destructive testing were compared to the visual inspection ratings assigned to each deck by UDOT.