ABSTRACT
There is strong demand for construction innovations that facilitate rapid reconstruction of existing, degraded infrastructure. Robust solutions are needed so that infrastructure can uninterruptedly serve as the backbone of a modern economy. Given that the U.S. roadway network is largely built out, heavy demand focuses on in-service reconstruction with maintenance-free solutions. A significant advancement has been the push toward prefabrication of an ever-greater proportion of a bridge’s structure, thus allowing for changes to the project critical path and increases in component quality. The move toward prefabrication has occurred concurrently with the move toward the use of advanced materials and detailing practices for the connections between prefabricated bridge components. The research conducted at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center has been a key part of these advancements which are allowing higher quality bridges to be quickly constructed with the expectation of longer, uninterrupted service.
