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CHAPTER 6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the work described in this report, the following general conclusions are made:

• A significant amount of information is available as a result of the joint State-FHWA HPC bridge projects. This information includes construction practices, specifications, and research.
• A large number of provisions of the AASHTO Standard Specifications need to be revised for use with HPC.
• Based on the available information, proposed revisions to the AASHTO Standard Specifications can be developed.
• Additional research is still needed to address all provisions of the specifications that are impacted by the use of HPC.
• The FHWA definition of HPC needs to be revised to reflect new characteristics and to update the grades.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the work described in this report, the following specific recommendations are made:

• The compilation of information and specifications from HPC bridges should be made available from FHWA as a CD-ROM and for downloading from the FHWA HPC Web site and the National Concrete Bridge Council Web site.
• The proposed revisions to 15 AASHTO materials specifications plus 1 new specification should be submitted to the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Materials for consideration and adoption.
• The proposed revisions to 14 AASHTO test methods plus 1 new test method should be submitted to the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Materials for consideration and adoption.
• The proposed revisions to 30 articles of the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges should be made available to the highway departments that continue to use these specifications.
• The proposed revisions to 17 articles of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications should be submitted to the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures for consideration and adoption.
• The proposed revisions to 16 articles of the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Construction Specifications should be submitted to the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures for consideration and adoption.
• The 10 research problem statements should be submitted to the appropriate Transportation Research Board committees and to the AASHTO Standing Committee on Research for their endorsement.
• The 10 research problem statements should be submitted to other organizations that sponsor concrete research, such as the American Concrete Institute, Portland Cement Association, and Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.
• The FHWA HPC definition should be referred to as a classification and not a definition.
• The proposed revisions to the characteristics and grades should be incorporated into the FHWA HPC classification.
• The review of the HPC definition should be submitted to a national technical journal, such as Concrete International, for publication.

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FHWA-HRT-05-056

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