SHRP 2 Project Abstracts SHRP2/FEHRL Joint Symposia
1. Bridges for Service Life beyond 100 Years: Innovative Systems, Subsystems, and
Components
The objective of this project is to improve existing bridge systems, subsystems, and components that historically limit the service life of bridges, and to identify and prove promising concepts for alternative systems, subsystems, and components to realize the target 100+ years service life threshold. The project is therefore focusing on the conceptual development of systems, subsystems, and components that are rapidly and economically maintained and replaced. Proof-of-concept testing of modified and new conceptual bridge systems, subsystems, and components is also being conducted in this project. Since a certain level of maintenance is inevitable within a 100-year service life, maintenance considerations are also being addressed in the research.
2. Bridge for Service Life beyond 100 Years: Service Limit State Design
The current service limit states of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications are intended to ensure a serviceable bridge for a 75-year design life. These service limit states, however, are not calibrated using reliability theory to achieve a determined life with a specific level of certainty, the reasons being that the tools and data to accomplish this calibration were not available to the LRFD code writers. The goal of this SHRP 2 project is to calibrate the service limit states for a variety of structural components that are critical to reaching the expected service life and assuring an actual life beyond 100 years. The project is also developing the framework for continued refinement of the service limit state calibration to be used when additional data become available in the future.
3. Innovative Bridge Designs for Rapid Renewal
With increasing age and deterioration of the existing highway and bridge network, a program lasting several decades is likely required to modernize, upgrade and reconstruct a significant portion of the existing network. The premise of this study is that there are various improvements that can be made in the existing design and construction process that individually but more so cumulatively will transform the highway and bridge construction business in coming years. A transition will occur from long-duration construction of bridges on site to projects with much shorter construction durations.
This project explores the role that accelerated bridge construction (ABC) can play as a tool in the renewal process and is developing standardized approaches to designing, constructing, and reusing complete bridge systems that address rapid renewal needs and efficiently integrate modern construction equipment.
4. Nondestructive Testing to Identify Concrete Bridge Deck Deterioration
The primary goal of this research is to identify NDT technologies that can effectively detect and characterize deterioration in bridge concrete decks. This presentation will provide a summary of activities related to categorizing and ranking the most promising

SHRP 2 Project Abstracts SHRP2/FEHRL Joint Symposia techniques from the perspective of speed, accuracy, precision, ease of use and other performance parameters. The presentation will also describe ongoing project activities related to validation testing for independent evaluation of the NDT techniques for each deck deterioration issue under investigation. The test beds planned for this evaluation include both controlled-laboratory specimens and actual bridge decks to represent field conditions.
5. Performance Specifications
Many states are experimenting with specifications and warranties to assure that all work is performed properly the first time, and to reduce or eliminate construction delays, particularly on highway renewal projects where the need to minimize disruption is paramount.
One aspect of this project is the development of performance specifications for construction, maintenance, preservation, and operation of bridges. The performance measures and expectations in these specifications have been selected to work well in the rapid renewal context. The investigation include the development of detailed outlines that can be used to assemble construction specifications for major bridge components, which can then be combined to encompass entire bridges and even networks of bridges.
The outlines include performance measures, test methods and/or testing devices, and often realistic targets or specification limits. The parameters in the outlines are grouped into logical tiers that relate to the owner’s degree of control over the process. The tiered structure helps the developer to build a set of specifications that suit the anticipated contracting scenario or project delivery method. Delivery methods that are considered include Design-Bid-Build, Design-Build, Design-Build-Maintain-Operate, Maintain only, and Maintain & Operate.
6. Geotechnical Solutions for Soil Improvement
This project will focus on three elements: (1) construction of new embankments and roadways over areas of unstable soils, (2) widening and expansion of existing roadways and embankments, and (3) improvement and stabilization of the support beneath the pavement structure. In all cases, construction as well as service loads is being considered.
The project is looking at over 40 geotechnical solutions including geotechnical construction methods to alter the soil/ground conditions to meet project requirements and methods to increase bearing capacity or strength, increase density, control deformations, accelerate consolidation, decrease imposed loads, reduce permeability and seepage, increase resistance to liquefaction. The geotechnical solutions are applicable for both roadways and bridges.