Re-Examination of

I-Girder/Pier Connection in
Jointless Bridges
Sameh S. Badie, Ph.D., P.E. Elimination of expansion joints in bridge decks
Research Assistant Professor
Civil Engineering Department
results in initial economy and long-term durability. It
College of Engineering provides a smooth-riding surface, minimizes
and Technology maintenance cost caused by water leakage, and
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Omaha, Nebraska provides a relatively high span-to-depth ratio of the
superstructure. This paper presents a summary of the
results of a project whose dual objectives were to
reduce the cost of bearing devices used in jointless
bridges and to optimize the girder/pier joint details
for economy, constructability and aesthetics. Criteria
for selection of bearing devices as a function of load
levels, translational and rotational capacities,
simplified diaphragm details, simplified fixed and
Maher K. Tadros, Ph.D., P.E. expansion bearing details, and enhancements of
Cheryl Prewett Professor
Construction Systems bridge aesthetics are presented. Cases where a sharp
Technology Department skew exists in the bridge are covered. With the large
College of Engineering and Technology bottom flange of modern I-girder shapes, it is shown
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Omaha, Nebraska how girder ends are produced with a skew to
minimize the pier width.

pplication of precast, prestressed girders to bridge

A construction started in the United States in the early

1950s. Since then, the use of pretensioned I-girders
with cast-in-place (CIP) concrete decks has grown rapidly.
Keith E. Pedersen Until the early 1960s, bridges built with pretensioned
Assistant Professor I-girders and CIP concrete decks were designed and con-
Construction Systems structed as simply supported spans with expansion joints at
Technology Department
College of Engineering and pier supports. Although this type of construction provided
Technology simple design and construction procedures, it created main-
University of Nebraska-Lincoln tenance problems. Leakage of deck joints combined with
Omaha, Nebraska excessive use of deicing chemicals resulted in serious main-
62 PCI JOURNAL
tenance and aesthetic problems in the axis parallel to the transverse direction This paper covers the following
superstructure bearing devices and of the bridge deck and are embedded topics:
substructure. in a flexible medium. Normally, this is 1. Criteria for selection of bearing
In the 1960s, a number of state loose sand which extends a short dis- devices that should be used with joint-
agencies1,2 started to build continuous tance to provide flexibility for the less bridges; including effect of load-
jointless highway bridges with pre- superstructure to expand and contract. ing levels, movement levels, long-
stressed concrete girders. Jointless A number of states3 currently use term durability and economics.
bridges are bridges that are con- jointless bridges as their standard 2. Role of pier diaphragms and how
structed without any expansion joints system of construction. Among them to simplify their details.
in the deck slab or girders at the piers are Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee, 3. Simplified detailing of fixed bear-
or abutments. Washington State, and West Vir- ings that restrain horizontal and
The road surface is continuous from ginia. Examples of successful joint- vertical translations, and expansion
one approach to the other and the su- less bridges include Route 50 Bridge bearings that restrain vertical transla-
perstructure is monolithically con- over Happy Hollow Creek, Ten- tion.
nected to the abutments. Superstruc- nessee, 4 1175 ft (358 m) long, the 4. Recommendations for enhance-
ture continuity for bridges is achieved U.S Highway 75 Viaduct in Ne- ment of bridge aesthetics.
by placing longitudinal reinforcement braska City, Nebraska,2 592 ft (180
in the continuous deck slab above the m) long, the I-469 Bridge over I-69,
SELECTION OF
piers, providing negative moment ca- Fort Wayne, Indiana,2 270 ft (82 m)
pacity for superimposed dead loads long, and the Deer Creek Industrial BEARING DEVICES
and live loads. Park Access Bridge, Barboursville, Bearing devices are used to transfer
Besides elimination of the mainte- West Virginia,2 302 ft (92 m) long. loads from the bridge superstructure to
nance costs associated with deck State agencies that use jointless pre- its substructure in a controlled man-
joints, advantages of using jointless stressed concrete bridges generally put ner. Satisfactory bearing devices
bridges include improvement of riding limits on bridge length and skew should:
quality, increase of economy and im- angle2 as follows: (1) maximum bridge 1. Uniformly distribute concentrated
provement of bridge aesthetics. Also, length is between 600 and 800 ft (183 vertical forces over an area large
the ability to design the girders as con- and 244 m), and (2) maximum skew enough to avoid high stress concentra-
tinuous for some of the load allows for angle is between 40 and 45 degrees. tions that may cause spalling and
longer spans and higher span-to-depth These limits have been set because crushing of the concrete.
ratios. of the significant movement that have 2. Provide adequate flexibility to
In jointless bridges, longitudinal to be accommodated at the abutments. allow differential rotations of the con-
movements that occur due to creep, However, some states, such as Ten- nected members without transfer of sig-
shrinkage, and temperature effects, are nessee, have gone beyond these limits nificant moments into the substructure.
accommodated at the abutments using and have built jointless bridges as long 3. Allow translational movements of
a single row of steel HP piles. The as 1175 ft (358 m) and a skew up to the superstructure relative to the sub-
piles are positioned with their weak 60 degrees.4 structure without inducing significant

Table 1. Summary of the survey results.

Plain elastomeric Steel reinforced Cotton duck pads Fiber glass pads Random oriented
Parameter pads (PEP) elastomeric pads (CDP) (FGP) Pot bearings fiber pads

Users 65 percent 97 percent 13 percent Zero 42 percent Zero

Load, kips 100 800 300 150 2500 400-800

(kN) (445) (3558) (1334) (667) (11,120) (1779-3558)

Rotation 0.010 0.040 0.003 0.015 0.020 0.080

Translation, in. 0.50 0.75 0.25 NA Zero if no sliding 0.75

(mm) (13) (19) (6) surface is provided (19)

Initial cost
$ per sq ft / per in. 28.00 280.00* 75.00 NA $2000 per bearing* 17.00✝
$ / m2 / mm (0.10) (1.05) (0.27) (0.06)

Maintenance
cost Low Low Low Low High NA

* Based on bid records of NDOR.

✝
Price provided by the manufacturers.

March-April 2001 63
horizontal forces into the substructure. as bearing devices in bridges. Also, sive than other types mentioned above
Common types of bearing devices plain pads are allowed within certain and have high maintenance costs.
that have been used in jointless limits. In the 1980s, Random-Oriented-
bridges are: 2. Cotton Duck Pads (CDP) are Fiber (ROF) pads were developed.
1. Elastomeric bearing pads that can made of very thin elastomer layers, ROF pads are a blend of an ozone-re-
be produced in a plain or reinforced less than 1/60 in. (0.4 mm), and rein- sistant rubber elastomer reinforced by
form. Plain elstomeric pads (PEP) forced with cotton ducks. CDPs are a dispersion of synthetic fabric fibers
consist of an elastomer compound stiff and have larger compressive load cured together to form the final prod-
block that is extruded or molded into capacities than PEPs, but they have uct. ROF bearing pads have under-
large sheets. very little rotational and translational gone some experimental investigations
The sheets are polymerized and then capacities. CDPs are sometimes used for more than 10 years.7-10 The experi-
cut to size. PEPs have low vertical with a TEFLON or Polytetrafluorethy- ments showed that ROF can support
load capacity and are susceptible to lene (PTFE) sliding surface to accom- compressive stresses up to 8000 psi
“slippage” from the contact area un- modate horizontal movements. (55.2 MPa) in non-sliding bearings
less they are adequately anchored. 3. Pot bearings consist of a shallow and up to 2500 psi (17.2 MPa) in slid-
Reinforced Elastomeric Pads (REP) cylinder or pot, an elastomeric pad, a ing bearings.9,10
can be reinforced with steel sheets, set of sealing rings, and a piston. Ma- ROF pads have the ability to accom-
glass fibers (FGP), or other reinforce- sonry plates and base plates are used modate rotational deformation up to
ment materials. Reinforced pads are to allow attachment of the bearing and 0.08 radians, which exceeds the practi-
stiffer than plain elastomeric pads increase the support area on the pier or cal rotations for prestressed concrete
and can support higher vertical loads. abutment. Pot bearings are considered girder ends under dead and live load.
The AASHTO Specifications5,6 allow as high-load multi-rotational bearing Tests7,8 have shown that ROF pads
the use of reinforced elastomeric pads devices. Pot bearings are more expen- can be used as an economical alterna-
tive to steel reinforced elastomeric
pads. However, the AASHTO Specifi-
cations5,6 do not recognize these pads
as possible bridge bearing devices,
which has significantly limited their
use in bridge applications. It is recom-
mended that the necessary steps be
taken to develop an AASHTO ap-
proval process to allow for the use of
this product in bridge applications.
In a recent survey,3 sent by the au-
thors to state agencies, PCI, ACI, and
TRB concrete bridge committee mem-
bers, participants were asked to state
the type of bearing devices currently
used in bridges, and to comment on
their economics and performance.
Fifty-four responses were received, 31
responses from state agencies and 23
responses from consulting firms. The
survey results are listed in Table 1 and
are discussed below:
1. The majority of state agencies (97
percent) use steel reinforced elas-
tomeric pads.
2. Plain elastomeric bearing pads
(PEP) are used by 65 percent of the re-
spondents. However, their use is lim-
ited to short span bridges with light
loads and small horizontal move-
ments. Most of the PEP users stated
that no “slippage” of the pads or mi-
gration of anti-ozone waxes to the pad
Fig. 1. Preliminary bearing selection diagram. CDP = Cotton Duck Pads, surface had been observed.
PEP = Plain Elastomeric Pads, ROF = Random Oriented Fiber Pads, 3. Forty-two percent of the respon-
SREP = Steel Reinforced Elastomeric Pads. dents use pot bearings. However, their
64 PCI JOURNAL
use is limited to extremely heavy bined with high translation, as shown Fixed Bearing Details
loads. in Fig. 1. Use of ROF will result in Most state agencies refer to a fixed
4. Cotton duck bearing pads (CDP) significant dollar savings in bearing bearing as a joint that allows no hori-
are not common. devices. zontal or vertical translation but allows
5. Fiberglass bearing pads (FGP) are Also, the authors recommend that rotation. Two alternatives have been
seldom used in bridges. the AASHTO Specifications5,6 recog- used for fixed bearing details. In both
6. Although ROF pads are struc- nize the use of ROF pads as accept- alternatives, a continuous concrete di-
turally comparable to and significantly able bearing devices. Conservative re- aphragm is used. The difference be-
less expensive than steel reinforced quirements could be temporarily tween them is the manner in which
elastomeric pads, they have not been imposed until more experience with vertical loads are transferred from the
used by state agencies in bridges be- satisfactory performance of these pads superstructure to the substructure.
cause the AASHTO Specifications5, 6 is reported. The first solution fully relies on the
do not recognize their use. bearing device with no contribution
Based on the literature review and from the diaphragm. The second solu-
the survey,1-10 Fig. 1 can be used as a PIER-DIAPHRAGM tion provides for no special bearing
preliminary design guide for selecting DETAILS device under the girder, and thus, fully
bearing devices for bridges. The infor- Over the years, many details for relies upon the bearing between the
mation shown in this figure has been jointless pier-diaphragm connections concrete diaphragm and the pier cap.
obtained from Refs. 9 to 11. have been developed and used by state Each concept has its advantages and
It is recommended to use ROF pads agencies. disadvantages.
in bridges as a replacement of the steel This section discusses the details An example of the first solution as
reinforced elastomeric pads, unless that have been used in recent years in used by the Nebraska Department of
high bearing capacity is to be com- the United States. Roads is shown in Fig. 2. The I-girders

Fig. 2. Fixed bearing detail. Note: 1 in. = 25.4 mm, #6 bar = 19 mm in diameter.
March-April 2001 65
are installed on reinforced elastomeric Joint filler is generally installed be- bars. Also, some strands from the bot-
bearing pads. A gap of about 8 in. (203 tween the concrete diaphragm and the tom flange of the girder are extended
mm) is usually maintained between the pier cap. Note that joint filler is used and anchored into the diaphragm.
girder ends. to limit moment transfer between the The girders are embedded in the di-
Some strands from the girder bot- girders and the pier, and to make fu- aphragm for a distance of about 1 to 2
tom flange are extended beyond the ture superstructure replacement easier. in. (25.4 to 51 mm) only. This small
girder ends and bent into the gap be- The bearing devices are designed to embedment length is intended to pro-
tween the girders. These strands are transfer the full vertical load. The sub- tect the diaphragm from cracking due
used to resist the positive moment re- structure is designed to resist moments to rotation of the girder ends. The
sulting from time-dependent effects. due to horizontal movement of the su- girder ends are provided with saw
Restraint of the joint against longi- perstructure. This detail has been ex- tooth shear keys to help transfer verti-
tudinal and transverse translation is tensively used in Midwestern and cal shear forces between the girder
provided by dowel bars extending Eastern states. Using this detail results and the diaphragm.
above the pier cap for a distance two- in a relatively small pier cap width, A shear key is formed between the
thirds of the girder height. The dowel but a high bearing device cost. diaphragm and the pier cap to provide
bars are located along the pier cap Fig. 3 shows an example of the sec- the diaphragm-pier joint with rota-
centerline. The diaphragm is cast to a ond solution as used by the state of tional capacity. Vertical dowel bars
height of about two-thirds of the Washington. The girders are temporar- extending from the pier cap into the
girder height. The rest of the di- ily supported on oak blocking wedges diaphragm are used to provide re-
aphragm is cast with the deck con- placed parallel to the diaphragm. Num- straint against longitudinal and trans-
crete. However, some state agencies ber 7 or 8 (#22 or #25) reinforcing bars verse translations. After the diaphragm
cast the diaphragm totally with the extend from the girder ends into the and the concrete deck are placed and
concrete deck. For more detailed dis- gap between the girders primarily for cured, the oak blocks are removed.
cussion of the merits of each construc- seismic resistance. A relatively wide This detail has been reported3 to be
tion procedure, see Ref. 12. diaphragm is needed to develop these in use for over 25 years in several

Fig. 3. Washington State fixed bearing detail. Note: 1 in. = 25.4 mm.
66 PCI JOURNAL
Western states. Using this detail re- bars are used. Restraint against trans- RECOMMENDED
sults in lower cost since no bearing de- verse movement of the superstructure JOINTLESS PIER DETAILS
vices are used. However, a wide pier is provided by the interlocking be-
cap is needed to accommodate the oak tween the cast-in-place diaphragm and This section discusses girder ends
blocks. In high seismic areas, di- the pier cap pedestals. with various skews, pier diaphragm
aphragm reinforcement, if detailed as If a large longitudinal movement usage, and fixed and expansion bear-
shown, would also result in wide di- that cannot be accommodated by the ing details.
aphragms and pier caps. elastomeric bearing pad is encoun-
tered, a sliding bearing device is used Girder Ends
as shown in Fig. 5. The sliding bearing For bridges with a large skew, a rel-
Expansion Bearing Details device consists of top and bottom atively wide pier cap is needed to sup-
Most state agencies refer to expan- parts. The top part is a steel sole plate port the girders and maintain a 6 to 10
sion bearings as a joint that allows no that is welded to the girder base plate in. (152 to 254 mm) wide gap between
vertical movement but permits hori- in the field and attached to a thin girder ends. Some state agencies, such
zontal and rotational movements. Fig. stainless steel plate. as Washington and Texas, use skewed
4 shows the expansion bearing detail The sole plate is attached to the pier girder ends to reduce the pier cap
where the I-girders are installed on cap by threaded anchor bolts embed- width. However, variable skewed
steel reinforced or fabric bearing pads ded in the pier cap using slotted holes girder ends result in increased cost of
that accommodate the longitudinal that permit longitudinal movement, girder production due to the fabrica-
movement through shear deformation but restrain the transverse movement tion of many special end forms.
of the pad. of the superstructure. The bottom part To minimize fabrication costs, it is
This detail is usually used with of the plate consists of a reinforced recommended that three standard
small longitudinal movements. It is elastomeric pad bonded to a TEFLON girder ends be used as follows: (1) for
similar to the first fixed bearing detail or Polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) slid- piers with a skew between zero and 15
discussed earlier except that no dowel ing surface. degrees, do not skew girder ends; (2)

Fig. 4. Expansion bearing detail with non-sliding interface.

March-April 2001 67
for piers with a skew between 15 and occurs due to superimposed dead Generally, one-half of the transverse
45 degrees, skew girder end 30 de- loads and live loads; wind load is assigned at the deck slab
grees; and (3) for piers with a skew be- 2. Transmit vertical loads from the and the other half is carried directly by
tween 45 and 65 degrees, skew girder superstructure to the substructure; the girder bearing devices. The load at
end at 55 degrees, as shown in Fig. 6. 3. Distribute lateral forces due to the slab can be applied to a “rigid
wind, braking, and collision to all frame” that consists of the top slab, the
girders of the bridge; and girder stems, and the steel diaphragm.
Steel Pier Diaphragms 4. Accommodate reinforcement re- The steel pier diaphragm for skewed
Forming of continuous concrete di- quired to resist positive moments due bridges may follow the pier skew or
aphragms over piers is usually time to time-dependent effects. be arranged in a stepped pattern per-
consuming and expensive because Although these design issues are pendicular to the longitudinal axes of
form dimensions depend on girder valid, a concrete diaphragm may not the girders, as shown in Section A-A
spacing, girder height, and skew angle be the most economical solution to in Fig. 7. If the girder depth is greater
of the pier. Thus, different forms have satisfy these design concerns. than 5 ft (1.5 m), the steel bent plates
to be used for each project. Fig. 7 shows a detail where the con- may be replaced with diagonal bracing
According to a local contractor’s fig- tinuous concrete diaphragm is omitted. members. The Nebraska Department
ures in the Midwest area, forming, plac- Its function is satisfied through a com- of Roads (NDOR) has already imple-
ing reinforcement, and concrete placing bination of two elements, namely, a mented this detail in the design of one
for a concrete diaphragm of a typical steel diaphragm and a concrete joint of its bridges.
overpass bridge takes as much time as between girder ends. Concrete is placed in the joint be-
one week and costs about 500 dollars A steel diaphragm, made of plates tween girder ends. It follows the same
per cubic yard of the diaphragm. bent into channel shapes, is structurally profile as that of the girders. The same
From a structural viewpoint, many designed to transmit the transverse steel forms, as used for production of
designers believe that concrete di- forces from the girder to the substruc- the concrete girder, can be used to
aphragms over piers are required to: ture. The connection between the gird- form the joint. Strands that are ex-
1. Form the compression block for ers and the deck slab would be part of tended and bent into the concrete joint
the negative moment over piers that the transverse load resisting system. between girder ends, to resist positive

Fig. 5.
Expansion bearing
detail with sliding
interface. Note:
1 in. = 25.4 mm.

68 PCI JOURNAL
moment due to time-dependent ef- guidelines for the capacity that can The standard practice in the state of
fects, should be of a length that allows be developed. Nebraska has been to use a #6 (#19)
a 2 in. (50 mm) concrete cover, as Grade 60 steel bar at 12 in. (305 mm)
shown in Detail C and Section D-D in spacing for continuous concrete di-
Fig. 8. Fixed Bearing Detail aphragm applications. It is suggested
The ACI 318-99 Code13 states that Fig. 9(a) shows the proposed fixed that the equivalent to this reinforcement
for 270 ksi (1861 MPa) strands that bearing detail, where a random ori- be also reasonable with the recom-
are used as non-prestressed reinforce- ented fiber (ROF) bearing pad is used mended details. Therefore, for a girder
ment, a maximum tensile strength of to support two precast girder ends. spacing of “S” in feet, it is suggested
90 ksi (620 MPa) can be utilized. The pier location and the girder ends that the dowel rod resist a shear force
In an experimental program con- are skewed according to the scheme equal to (0.44 sq in./ft)(0.67x60 ksi)(S
ducted at the University of Ne- mentioned above. A high strength ft) = 17.7S kips. This detail may result
braska, 14 test results showed that a dowel rod is used to restrain the trans- in a 3 ft (0.91 m) wide pier cap for a
270 ksi (1861 MPa) low relaxation verse and longitudinal movement of skew angle as much as 45 degrees, and
strand that is embedded in the di- the girder. for beams where bottom flanges are as
aphragm of a girder for a distance of The dowel rod extends in the joint wide as 48 in. (1250 mm).
10 in. (254 mm) is capable of devel- between the girder ends, and in the pier
oping 90 ksi (620 MPa) tensile cap enough distance to develop its ca-
stress. Therefore, the total embed- pacity in direct shear. A standard 18 in. Expansion Bearing Detail
ment length of the strands in the (457 mm) embedment length would be Fig. 9(b) shows the recommended
joint between the girder ends, with adequate in most practical applications. expansion bearing detail, where indi-
both horizontal and vertical legs in- The size of the dowel rod is determined vidual sliding bearing pads are used to
cluded, should be a minimum of 10 from the expected longitudinal move- support the girders. Steel side angles
in. (254 mm). If space allows for ment of the girders and the relative su- are used to restrain the transverse
more strand extension, Ref. 13 gives perstructure/substructure stiffness. movement. The angles are seated on

Fig. 6. Proposed skew angles of precast girder ends.

March-April 2001 69
Fig. 7. Superstructure/pier details with steel diaphragm. Note: 1 in. = 25.4 mm.

Fig. 8. Anchorage of bottom flange strands into joint between girder ends. Note: 1 in. = 25.4 mm.
70 PCI JOURNAL
Fig. 9. Recommended bearing details. Note: 1 in. = 25.4 mm.

1/4 in. (6 mm) pads to ensure full con- steel surface. The beveled plate is used
tact with the pier cap. The size of the to accommodate the longitudinal slope
BRIDGE AESTHETICS
bolts used to connect the angles to the of the bridge, if desired. Bridge aesthetics are relatively im-
pier cap is determined from the trans- The top part should be temporarily pacted by the difference in color be-
verse load on the bridge superstructure. attached to the girder base plate before tween various types of concrete used.
The area under the girders that is not installation of the girder. In the produc- For example, a color difference can be
covered with the bearing pads and the tion of the girders, a 1/2 in. (13 mm) observed on the side elevation of a
area under the joint between girder deep recess should be created under the bridge between the pier cap and the di-
ends are covered with joint filler. This base plate of the girder to help confine aphragm, between the diaphragm and
is to protect these areas from being the top bearing part in its final position. the precast girders, and between the
filled with concrete while placing the
concrete joint, and from debris that
may accumulate with time.
The sliding bearing device is installed
parallel to the girder end to minimize
pier cap width. It consists of bottom and
top parts as shown in Fig. 9(c). The bot-
tom part is a bearing pad with TEFLON
(PTFE) sliding surface, which is in-
stalled in a 1/2 in. (13 mm) recess cre-
ated in the pier cap top surface.
Based on the vertical load that needs
to be transmitted, a random oriented
fiber or a steel reinforced elastomeric
pad can be used. The top part consists
of a beveled steel plate with a stainless Fig. 10. Hammer head pier currently used by Nebraska Department of Roads.
March-April 2001 71
 Fig. 11.
Recommended
details to enhance
aesthetics.
Aesthetic pier
cap detail.

precast girders and the barriers. Also, • Add a bottom ledge to the barrier to may occur due to possible water
aesthetics are affected by leakage in the hide the deck slab, as shown in Fig. leakage.
joints between various concrete place- 7. This ledge is intended to hide the • Use the steel diaphragm detail shown
ments as shown in Fig. 10. In order to difference in color between the in Fig. 7. This would result in an un-
enhance bridge aesthetics, the follow- deck slab concrete and the barrier. interrupted exterior surface of the
ing recommendations are offered: Also, it will hide any stains that exterior girders. The exterior surface
of the joint between girder ends will
be difficult to hide. Rather, attempt
Fig. 12. to accentuate it by using a form liner
Hammer head to create recess.
pier with ledges
• A ledge should be added to the pier
that cover the
superstructure/pier cap to hide the side view of the di-
joint used by aphragm, as shown in Fig. 11. This
Texas Department concept has been used in Texas as
of Transportation. shown in Fig. 12.
• Bridge aesthetics can be greatly en-
hanced by modifying the shape of
the pier support. Fig. 10 shows the
“hammer head” pier that is cur-
rently used by the Nebraska Depart-
ment of Roads (NDOR). The pier
cap has side slopes and the pier col-
umn has chamfers. Form liners are
used to give the pier column vari-
ous surface textures. For bridges
wider than 50 ft (15.2 m), a multi-
hammer-head pier is used as shown
in Fig. 10.
72 PCI JOURNAL
Fig. 13(a). A Washington State Department of Fig. 13(b). A Washington State Department of
Transportation bridge before staining. Transportation bridge after staining.

• It is strongly recommended to stain load from the superstructure to the tween the pier cap and the girders may
the outside surface of the barriers, ex- substructure, which results in large be used. This will result in reducing
terior girders and pier with a color and expensive bearing pads. Designers the contact pressure and in providing a
sealing stain. This will conceal the should investigate the I-girder/pier more uniform stress distribution in the
difference in color between various detail before making this decision. For pier cap. A high strength steel dowel
concrete pours and will work as a example, if a concrete diaphragm is in rod should be used to restrain the joint
sealant to protect concrete from mois- direct contact with the pier cap con- against longitudinal and transverse
ture related discoloration. Also, it will crete, the diaphragm is expected to movements.
simplify graffiti removal, if present. transmit the large majority of the ver- 6. For expansion bearing details, it
Stain products should have the fol- tical load. This fact should be consid- is recommended to position the bear-
lowing properties: (1) uniformity of ered in the bearing design. It would re- ing pads parallel to the girder ends to
appearance, (2) color retention, (3) no duce the size and cost of the bearing minimize the pier cap width. Instead
peeling or flaking as it penetrates and devices. of using a thick sole plate to restrain
mechanically locks into pores of the 2. Random oriented fiber (ROF) transverse movement of the girders,
concrete, (4) non-oxidizing as it does pads are an economical replacement of two steel side angles should be used at
not contain any oxidizing ingredients the more expensive steel reinforced each girder location.
such as vegetable or paraffin, and (5) elastomeric and cotton duck pads 7. To enhance bridge aesthetics and
fast drying. (CDP). ROF pads can be used with improve durability, it is strongly rec-
Some states, such as Washington, vertical loads up to 800 kips (3558 ommended to stain all exterior sur-
have a long and successful experience kN) and accommodate up to 3/4 in. faces of the bridge with a sealing
with staining products. These products (19 mm) of horizontal movement. In stain; not to extend the concrete di-
can be brushed, rolled, or sprayed. bearings with horizontal movement aphragm beyond the exposed surface
They cost only 10 to 15 cents per larger than 3/4 in. (19 mm), a two- of the exterior girder; and to add a bot-
sq ft of the covered area. Figs. 13(a) component bearing device with a tom edge to the barrier to cover the
and 13(b) show photographs of the PTFE sliding surface should be used. deck slab thickness.
Tacoma I-5 Interchange, Tacoma, 3. In order to reduce the width of the
Washington, before and after the exte- pier cap, it is recommended to skew
rior surface of the superstructure was the girder ends using two or three ACKNOWLEDGMENT
covered with color stains. standard skew angles. This project was sponsored by the
4. The concrete diaphragm over the Federal Highway Administration
pier should be replaced with a steel di- (FHWA), the Nebraska Department
CONCLUSIONS aphragm and the joint between the of Roads (NDOR), and the Center for
I-girder/pier joint details for joint- girder ends should be filled with con- Infrastructure Research (CIR), Uni-
less bridges are proposed in this paper. crete that takes the same shape as the versity of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).
Using these details will increase con- girder. The compressive strength of Support of Mark Ahlman, Gale Barn-
struction speed, enhance bridge aes- the concrete joint should match that of hill, Mike Beacham, Sam Fallaha,
thetics, and reduce maintenance costs. the concrete girder. This would sim- Lyman Freemon, Fouad Jaber, Moe
Specific conclusions and recommen- plify the construction process of the Jamshidi, Leona Kolbet, Steve Sabra,
dations of this study are summarized superstructure/substructure joint and Samir Sidhom, and Daniel Sharp of
as follows: reduce construction time and cost. the Nebraska Department of Roads
1. The current practice is to design 5. For fixed bearings, a ROF pad (NDOR) is gratefully acknowledged.
bearing pads to transfer full vertical that covers the full contact area be- These individuals spent considerable
March-April 2001 73
time discussing the contents of the (PCI), American Concrete Institute Girgis, research graduate student,
project and inspiring the research (ACI), and Transportation Research University of Nebraska, for his help
team. Board (TRB) bridge committees who in providing the sketches. Also, the
Acknowledgment is due to bridge responded to the survey and provided authors would like to thank the PCI
engineers of the state DOT, consul- the research team with their experi- JOURNAL reviewers of this paper
tant engineers, and members of the ences. for their valuable and constructive
Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Acknowledgment is due to Amgad comments.

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