Prediction of Remaining Life for Bridge Decks Considering Deterioration Factors and Propose of Prioritization Process for Bridge Deck Maintenance

Aged highway bridges have become substantially prevalent in recent years. Moreover, combined deterioration, caused by using deicing agents in winter, has led to increased bridge maintenance costs. Accordingly, to extend the service life of bridge decks, this study utilized actual inspection data and major deterioration factors to derive the remaining service life of bridge decks. Based on this study, the following three factors are selected: deicing agent exposure grade, pavement condition state, and surface improvement status. Performance degradation curves were derived for 11 cases that considered the representative three deterioration factors, and the performance degradation of decks was examined for each deterioration factor. Additionally, a process to determine maintenance priorities, using the current condition of highway bridges and the deterioration factors of individual bridges, was proposed. The maintenance demand was predicted based on the end of deck life, which indicated that the demand for deck replacement will sharply increase in 15 years, and that the decks of more than 2000 bridges will reach the end of life in 40 years. Furthermore, this paper proposes a process for prioritizing the maintenance of approximately 9000 highway bridge decks. By applying the prioritization process for bridge deck maintenance to the bridge deck, not only can the life of the bridge deck be extended, but also environmental pollution can be minimized. Additionally, an optimizing design for bridge decks, by considering the remaining life and deterioration factors, can be possible. Therefore, it is expected that the sustainability of the bridge deck can be accomplished.