Deterioration of reconstructed bridge decks

The accurate prediction of the future condition of bridge components is one of the vital parts of any bridge management system (BMS). Two different methodologies are proposed to determine the deterioration rates of bridge components after improvement works. Ratings data associated with 2601 bridges for which records were available in the Illinois Structure Information System database in the period 1976 to 1998 were analyzed and the results of the two methodologies are compared. Both methodologies consistently showed that the rate of deterioration of reconstructed bridge decks is remarkably faster than the rate of deterioration of new decks.