The week's events
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Accelerated and Innovative Bridge Deck Repair Accelerated and Innovative Bridge Deck Repair
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September 8, 2026Graham Bettis, P.E., VP Business Development, BDI; Former State Bridge Engineer, Texas Department of Transportation
David Whitmore, P.Eng., FACI, FCSCE, President and Chief Innovation Officer, Vector Corrosion Technologies, LTD
Charlie Young, P.E., Vice President, BDI
Tristan R. Siegel, MCE, P.E., Staff Bridge, Region 1 Design and Construction Lead, Colorado Department of Transportation
Jim Nelson, P.E., Senior Bridge Technical Manager, Michael Baker International; Former State Bridge Engineer, Iowa Department of Transportation
Mohamed ElBatanouny, Ph.D., S.E., P.E., Associate Principal and Unit Manager, WJE
Description:
The IBT/ABC-UTC 2026 In-Depth Web Training features the topic of Accelerated and Innovative Bridge Deck Repair. This training is four hours in length and consists of six modules. We will start with a presentation on decision making related to repair vs replacement of bridge decks. We will then learn about what causes deck failure and methods for prevention. We will also learn about Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) methods to help with decision making and project scope development. After a break, we will be presented with bridge deck repair project case studies. We will wrap up with a presentation on resources available to help with bridge deck repair decisions and an example of how to utilize one of those resources, the Pooled-Fund developed Bridge Deck Preservation Tool (BDPT).Agenda:
(click image to enlarge)
Presenters:
Graham Bettis, P.E.
VP Business Development
BDI
Former State Bridge Engineer
Texas Department of Transportation
Email: grahamb@bditest.comGraham Bettis has over 27 years of experience in the structural engineering field, primarily focused on forensics, in-depth evaluations, and development of approaches for safe and economic preservation. He spent 18 years with the Texas Department of Transportation, the last six as State Bridge Engineer. In that role he was responsible for overseeing the design, inspection, and preservation of an inventory of over 57,000 bridges. He joined BDI in September 2025, where he continues to work with bridge owners to develop informed preservation decisions based on in-depth bridge investigations, particularly those related to nondestructive evaluation.
David Whitmore, P.Eng., FACI, FCSCE,
President and Chief Innovation Officer,
Vector Corrosion Technologies, LTD
Email: davidw@vector-corrosion.comDavid Whitmore is President and Chief Innovation Officer for Vector Corrosion Technologies, a company which specializes in the repair and corrosion protection of reinforced concrete structures. Dave is co-founder of P+Ex, a non-profit center of excellence focused on preserving and extending the service life of concrete structures and served on the Strategic Highway Research Project: Bridges for Service Life Beyond 100 Years. He is a Professional Engineer and a fellow of the International Concrete Repair Institute, the American Concrete Institute and the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers.
Charlie Young, P.E.
Vice President
BDI
Email: charliey@bditest.comSince joining BDI in 2018, Charles has supported bridge deck assessment projects through business development, NDE testing, project management, and field coordination. His experience includes acoustic, ultrasonic, electromagnetic, and electrochemical methods, with particular emphasis on automated concrete sounding (ACS) and ground penetrating radar (GPR). In his 7 years at BDI, he has managed bridge deck programs for over 20 transportation agencies across the country.
Tristan R. Siegel, MCE, P.E.
Staff Bridge
Region 1 Design and Construction Lead
Colorado Department of Transportation
Email: tristan.siegel@state.co.usTristan Siegel is the Design and Construction Unit Leader for Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Staff Bridge, Region 1, since 2020. He is responsible for overseeing the management of approximately 900 bridges, 1,500 walls, and other State-owned structural assets in the Denver-Metro area. Before moving to Colorado, Tristan worked for 7 years at the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) Bridge Design group as a project engineer. He is a member of AASHTO COBS Soil Structures Technical Committee.
Jim Nelson, P.E.
Senior Bridge Technical Manager
Michael Baker International
Former State Bridge Engineer
Iowa Department of Transportation
Email: jim.nelson@mbakerintl.comJim is a Senior Bridge Technical Manager for Michael Baker International, Inc. with a focus on bridge preservation and extending the service life of existing bridges. He is a retired 26-year professional of the Iowa DOT and the former Iowa DOT State Bridge Engineer responsible for a $1.5 Billion 5-year bridge improvement program and the safety inspection of over 4,200 primary system bridges. Jim served as the chair of the AASHTO Committee on Bridges and Structures (COBS) Bridge Preservation Technical Committee (BPTC) for seven years.
Mohamed ElBatanouny, Ph.D., S.E., P.E.
Associate Principal and Unit Manager
WJE
Email: melbatanouny@wje.comMohamed ElBatanouny, Ph.D., S.E., P.E., is an Associate Principal and Unit Manager at WJE. He joined WJE in 2015 following five years in academic research and teaching. He earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of South Carolina. His expertise includes structural evaluation, repair and rehabilitation, nondestructive evaluation, instrumentation, and bridge engineering. Dr. ElBatanouny has held leadership roles on TRB and ACI committees and contributed to research sponsored by state DOTs and FHWA. He has authored more than 80 publications and regularly presents on bridge preservation, asset management, load testing, concrete durability, and service-life planning.
Module 1: To Repair or Not to Repair – Bridge Deck Rehabilitation from a (former) Owner’s Perspective
by Graham Bettis, P.E., VP Business Development, BDI; Former State Bridge, Texas Department of Transportation
Description: As many interstate era bridge decks reach the end of their service lives, bridge owners increasingly face difficult decisions on next steps. Visual observations, nondestructive testing, and other modern evaluation techniques provide for a great deal of useful information on bridge deck condition, but other factors like maintenance of traffic and cost constraints frequently govern project-level decision making. In this presentation, Graham Bettis (formerly of TxDOT) will offer a bridge owner’s perspective on balancing decisions in regard to bridge repair, rehabilitation, and replacement.
Figure 1.1 – Image from FHWA Bridge Preservation Guide (2018), Figure 2, page 6.
Module 2: Why Bridge Decks Fail and How to Prevent It
by David Whitmore, P.Eng., FACI, FCSCE, President and Chief Innovation Officer, Vector Corrosion Technologies, LTD
Description: Bridge decks are exposed to the elements and take a beating. Learn what causes bridge decks to deteriorate and understand how different approaches can prevent deterioration from occurring and how they can be used to ensure your bridge deck repairs are durable.
Module 3: NDT Tools for Repair-or-Replace Decisions and Repair Scope Definition: Technology Overview and Selected Case Studies
by Charlie Young, P.E., Vice President, BDI
Description: This presentation will provide an overview of the state of the art on bridge deck NDT tools and the value each one provides in understanding the condition of a bridge deck. Some examples of technologies discussed will be automated concrete sounding (ACS), ground penetrating radar (GPR), high resolution imaging (HRI),half-cell potential (HCP), and infrared thermography (IRT). Material sampling will also be discussed, including petrography, chloride sampling, and physical verification of NDT findings. After providing this overview, selected case studies will be presented where bridge deck NDT was used to inform certain decisions about bridge deck rehabilitation, including repair vs. replacement options. Case studies will include large network-level studies, long span signature bridges, and individual one-off bridges in need of rehabilitation.
Figure 3.1 – GPR Cover Map
Figure 3.2 – Impactor
Module 4: Enhancing Bridge Safety and Preservation: CDOT Deck Rehabilitation Case Studies
by Tristan R. Siegel, MCE, P.E., Staff Bridge., Region 1 Design and Construction Lead, Colorado Department of Transportation
Description: The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) faces critical challenges maintaining aging bridge decks amid high traffic and constrained funding. This presentation explores some of the common best practices for bridge deck rehabilitation as well as innovative solutions through two recent deck preservation case studies. First, we examine a steel deck plank formwork retrofit deployed on targeted bridges across major corridors in the Denver Metro area, including I-25, I-70, and I-270. This proactive measure protects the public from falling concrete and successfully reduces emergency repair times by fifty percent. Second, we analyze an emergency rehabilitation on I-70 utilizing hydrodemolition and a Polyester Polymer Concrete overlay. We highlight the integration of comprehensive Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE), including SounDAR, GPR, and high-resolution UAV imaging. Attendees will gain actionable insights into design, cost data, NDE reliability, and construction outcomes, offering valuable owner perspectives.
Figure 4.1
Figure 4.2
Module 5: All the Bridge Deck Repair & Preservation Resources You Need
by Jim Nelson, P.E., Senior Bridge Technical Manager, Michael Baker International, Former State Bridge Engineer, Iowa Department of Transportation
Description: There are many new national technical guides that address the repair and preservation of highway bridge decks. This presentation gives an overview and background information regarding recently published AASHTO Guides and relevant Pocket Guides developed by the FHWA Bridge Preservation Expert Task Group. These consensus documents can assist bridge engineers with introducing new bridge deck repair and preservation actions for their agency or offer new perspectives for continuous improvement of existing practices. The presentation will also introduce the Bridge Deck Preservation Tool, a free tool hosted on the FHWA’s InfoBridgeTM website giving background on its development.
Figure 5.1
Module 6: The Bridge Deck Preservation Tool (BDPT)
by Mohamed ElBatanouny, Ph.D., S.E., P.E., Associate Principal and Unit Manager, WJE
Description: This presentation will be a demonstration of the Bridge Deck Preservation Tool, a free tool hosted on the FHWA’s InfoBridgeTM website. https://infobridge.fhwa.dot.gov/bdpt/
The BDPT is a nationally accessible, data-driven decision-making tool within the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) InfoBridge platform. The tool’s purpose is to help engineers and transportation agencies select appropriate maintenance strategies for reinforced concrete bridge decks. It enables consistent, clear, project-level comparisons of preservation alternatives based on engineering criteria. The BDPT can operate using only National Bridge Inventory (NBI) condition ratings but allows for more refined analyses when element-level or detailed inspection data (e.g., crack mapping, delamination surveys, chloride testing) are available. Its analytical framework includes modules for feasibility screening (Filters and Thresholds), probabilistic service life extension estimation, deterioration modeling, life cycle cost analysis, and multi-objective optimization to rank maintenance alternatives. The tool is intended for decks primarily affected by chloride-induced corrosion and with condition ratings of 5 or higher. While its cost and service life estimates are comparative rather than absolute, the BDPT provides agencies with a practical, engineering-based framework to support informed, cost-effective bridge deck maintenance decisions.
Figure 6.1
Figure 6.2
