Repair strategies for fatigued highway bridges

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Many highway bridges currently in service in Canada were built in the 1950s when bridges were designed to permit lower demands than those permitted by current design standards (CSA-S16-06). This bridge population represents over 40% of the highway bridges across Canada and a significant portion of these bridges are structurally or functionally deficient, which means that they are in need of costly rehabilitation or replacement. These bridges are nearing the end of their design life and have been exposed to millions of load cycles from increasing volume and weight of truck traffic while exposed to harsh environments. It is estimated that roughly 12% of the 600,000 bridges in the USA are deficient and similar proportions of the Canadian bridges are expected to be in similar conditions or worst condition due to our severe climatic conditions over most of Canada. As a result, Canadian highways have hundreds of bridges exhibiting fatigue due to overload or environmental conditions, or some combination of these factors.