scope:

Scope and Objectives of the Guidelines

Small Movement Expansion Joints (SMEJs) serve a very important function in the life-cycle of a bridge. They provide a smooth transition from one span to another in a multi-span bridge or from the approach roadway to the deck, and they direct water and other chemicals off of the deck and away from the bridge. While the cost of a joint may be small relative to the total cost of the bridge, the consequences of a joint failure can be significant. Failure of a joint or selection of an improper system can lead to damage and deterioration of the superstructure, bearings, and substructure, in the form of corrosion of steel girders, spalling of concrete, and erosion of embankments. These are serious problems that are expensive to repair and impact the condition rating of the bridge. Thus, it is vitally important that joints are maintained and repaired in a timely manner, lest it lead to more serious problems. That said, there has been a growing awareness of the need to develop detailed procedures for maintaining, repairing, and replacing SMEJs.

The objective of this guideline is to provide bridge maintenance practitioners with detailed procedures for replacing, repairing, and maintaining SMEJs. "Small movement" is defined here as an expansion joint with a total movement of 4 in. or less; anything higher than that is beyond the scope of this document. The guidelines are applicable to the most common SMEJs in use and on the market today; they may not be applicable to joints that are not readily available today or those developed in the future.

Some attention has been paid recently to eliminating bridge joints, which clearly is one approach to solving the problems associated with joints. This, however, introduces many other factors for consideration and a detailed discussion of this approach is beyond the scope of these guidelines; however, a brief discussion of the topic can be found in Section 6.3. There are other references that address joint elimination; the interested reader should consult those documents for more information on this subject.