Impact of Daily Traffic on Various Bridge Decks in Different Climatic Regions

Average daily traffic (ADT) is one of the parameters that assesses the average traffic that runs on a bridge each day. ADT impacts the performance of every bridge in the long run. Deterioration rate of various bridge decks constructed with different materials in several climatic regions is different. Understanding the impact of ADT on various bridge decks built in different climatic regions allows the bridge owners to monitor the daily traffic closely and to efficiently allocate their funds for the rehabilitation of bridges. This paper attempts to study the impact of ADTs by calculating the deterioration rates of a variety of bridge decks that are made up of diverse materials and built in several climatic regions. Non-linear regression equations are developed using the time in condition rating mechanism to see how fast the bridge decks decline from an excellent condition to a satisfactory condition. Results show that the decks with lower ADTs that built with concrete continuous material and reside in Midwestern region deteriorate faster than the lower ADT bridges that were made up of concrete material and reside in Southeast region.