Evaluation of expansion joints in Austria

Road expansion joints on motorway bridges are heavily loaded structural elements. Due to ageing of infrastructure, rising traffic loads and structural deficits of older expansion joints, many joints are subject to regular maintenance and do not reach their design service life.

The project EVAF (“Development of wear-resistant expansion joints for bridges”) was set up to develop robust and low-maintenance designs of expansion joints, based on investigations on motorway bridges in Austria. This paper presents results from the first part of the project, where an inspection survey was carried out using manual inspection and data from a routine monitoring device. Expansion joints were assessed based on a damage catalogue, and common damage types were identified. A numerical analysis based on idealized as well as on measured road surface levels shows the dynamic load amplification occurring on expansion joints to give general rules on installation with respect to level differences in the road surface.