ABSTRACT
Greek motorway network totals 2.500 km and includes a great number of bridges. The standard bridge deck pavement construction practice is to lay 10 cm asphalt over a waterproofing membrane. Most bridges have been trafficked for 15 years carrying millions Standard Axles and exposed to adverse weather conditions. The mountainous of Greek terrain implies curved bridge geometry with slopes, resulting in repeated braking for heavy vehicles along downgrade bridges and centrifugal forces acting along curved bridges. Thus, high horizontal shear strains apply to the bridge waterproofing membrane level and cause pavement damages, as pot holes, shoveling and raveling, mostly appearing to downgrade decks in comparison to their twin upgrade decks or to adjacent embankments. Concrete bridges expansion joints also shoe many damages. In the paper, this pavement behavior of bridge decks and expansion joints decay is presented and documented based on the extended experience gathered along Greek motorways, especially Egnatia Odos, during its 15 years of operation.
