Extending Bridge Life by Maintaining Expansion Joints

The latest of TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Ready Results explores guidelines to prevent failures in small-movement expansion joints (SMEJs) on bridges. SMEJs enable a bridge to accommodate movements caused by temperature changes and rotation, while also directing water and deicing chemicals off the deck and away from the bridge. This summary explores research aimed at developing SMEJ maintenance, repair, and replacement guidelines to mitigate bridge corrosion or embankment erosion.