A Reinforcing Steel-Free Concrete Deck Slab For the Salmon River Bridge

Abstract

The first known fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) bridge deck slab without any internal steel reinforcement was constructed on the Trans Canada Highway 104 and opened to traffic on December 5, 1995. A companion bridge deck with conventional steel reinforcement design was also constructed. This project represents a new approach to bridge deck design. A structural system using polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete enables the bridge deck to be constructed totally devoid of all internal steel reinforcement. This article describes the issues of design, construction, experimental verification, monitoring, and economics specific to that project.