National Review on Use and Performance of Uncoated Weathering Steel Highway Bridges
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 19, Issue 5
Abstract
Uncoated weathering steel (UWS) bridges have been in use in the United States for nearly 50 years, now enabling the long-term performance of these structures to be assessed. This was accomplished by surveying the varied experiences of 52 U.S. transportation agencies, along with data analysis on all UWS bridges known within these and other agencies, which total nearly 10,000 structures. Climate and age were key considerations in this data analysis. Contrary to previous, more limited research, this analysis showed that there is not a strong trend in UWS bridge performance as a function of climate. A similar climate analysis for non-UWS bridges also showed a counterintuitive relationship between some climate types and these bridges. This suggests that design and maintenance practices may be more influential to UWS performance than climate, and further research to cultivate current best practices in this regard is recommended. Comparison between the UWS and non-UWS data sets also reveals that UWS bridges generally perform well in relation to non-UWS bridges.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this work was provided by the FHWA LTBPP through Rutgers University under FHWA Contract No. DTFH61-08-C-00005. However, all opinions and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funding agency. This work would not have been possible without the efforts of the state coordinators of the LTBPP, whose assistance and support are gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 19 • Issue 5 • May 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 8, 2013
Accepted: Nov 6, 2013
Published online: Jan 9, 2014
Published in print: May 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Jun 9, 2014
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