Development of Maintenance Strategies to Mitigate Bridge End Damage Due to Water Intrusion

Significant amounts of money are being spent annually on rehabilitation of damaged pavements and approach slabs near bridge ends. Investigation of such failures often reveals that saturated base and subgrade materials and/or loss of soil material from underneath the approach slab, pavement or rip rap slabs have contributed to failure. This paper reports findings from a research study entitled “Water Intrusion in Base/Subgrade Materials at Bridge Ends.” The objectives of this research project were to identify potential sources of water intrusion at bridge ends, and develop maintenance strategies that can be economically implemented in the field to minimize future occurrence of the problem. The study focused on existing, in-service bridges and remedial strategies that have been successfully implemented. A survey questionnaire was developed and sent to all the 25 TxDOT administrative districts to collect information about major factors contributing to water intrusion and bridge-end s