Ultra-High Performance Concrete Beam End Repairs

The purpose of this project was to utilize CTDOT’s new Ultra High-Performance mix design for concrete (UHPC) to repair and rehabilitate eighteen (18) bridges that have deteriorated beam ends and to preserve each bridge’s condition, extending their service life. This project took place in District 1 within the towns of Middletown, Tolland, Southington, Meriden, Rocky Hill, Plainville, Cromwell, New Britain, Wethersfield, and East Hartford.

This project introduced two new technological solutions for bridge rehabilitation that CTDOT is planning to implement on future projects:

• UHPC beam end repairs utilized a 20 ksi mix of proprietary cement with embedded steel fibers, poured through a PVC pipe through the deck above and towards beam ends into forms. Welded to the beam end webs and flanges were studs, which were required to increase the shear strength of the girder once encased in UHPC and to prevent further deterioration of the beam due to the joint above. This replaced the previous rehabilitation method of welding steel plates to reinforce beam ends.
• Laser Ablation Coating Removal (LACR) utilized a 1,000-watt laser with a pulse frequency between 24-40 KHz to remove the lead-based paint at the area of UHPC repair. The LACR utilized a built-in fume collector that captured the effluent at the source of removal. The fume extractor was comprised of a multi-stage carbon filter with HEPA filtration. This process reduced the need for full containment for blasting and eliminated most of the debris disposal.

Garg Consulting Services, Inc. (Garg) provided Construction Engineering and Inspection services, including daily field reporting, quantity tracking, contractor coordination, and verification of compliance with CTDOT standards. Other work for the project included, but was not limited to:

• Replacement of deck joints and deteriorated deck ends on all bridges.
• Providing a UHPC link slab to eliminate deck joints at one bridge.
• Cleaning and painting beam ends.
• Removing and disposing of lead-based paint debris.
• Bearing rehabilitation, with either cleaning and painting or jacking and replacing with elastomeric bearing pads.
• Repairing and/or replacing deteriorated concrete pedestals and pier caps.
• Strip, patch, membrane, and overlay (SPMO) bridge decks.
• Peen cover plate welds.
• Deck repair, both partial and full depth.