Demonstration of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Bridge Decking as a Replacement for Steel Reinforced Concrete Bridge Decking

The Federal Highway Administration reports that approximately one quarter of the direct cost of corrosion of bridges is made up of maintenance and capital costs for concrete decks.  Bridges that have a design life of 50 years may have a deck that only lasts 15 years before needing replacement.  Over eighty percent of the Army’s bridges are concrete or steel with a majority of these having reinforced concrete decks.  Because fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are not susceptible to the same effects of corrosion as is steel, FRP bridge decks offer a promising alternative to conventional steel reinforced concrete decks.  Besides the promise of lower maintenance, an FRP composite deck can be installed in less time than a conventional concrete deck thus minimizing traffic disruption during deck replacement.  An FRP composite deck can also reduce the dead load on the bridge with a subsequent increase in its live load rating.  To demonstrate and validate these benefits, a concrete bridge deck was replaced with an FRP composite bridge deck on a highway bridge at Redstone Arsenal, AL.  This paper will describe the process of design, installation, testing, and performance monitoring of this bridge deck replacement project.