ITEM 516  EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION JOINTS JOINT SEALERS AND BEARING DEVICES

516.01   Description
516.02   Fabrication
516.03   Coating
516.04   Materials
516.05   Expansion and Contraction Joints
516.06   Joint Sealers
516.07   Bearing Devices
516.08   Method of Measurement
516.09   Basis of Payment

516.01  Description.  This work consists of fabricating, assembling, constructing, coating, and installing expansion and contraction joints, vertical extension of structural expansion joints, joint sealers, or bearing devices of the type and size specified.

516.02  Fabrication.  Fabricate metal joint armor and metal bearings according to Items 513.  Select a fabricator that is at least pre-qualified at level SF.  The Department will base final acceptance of fabricated members on the Engineer’s approval that the fabricated items that can be successfully incorporated into the structures.  Submit mill test reports for structural steel, steel castings, bronze, and sheet lead certified according to 501.07.

516.03  Coating.  Coat exposed steel bearings according to Items 513 and 514 that are to be attached to structural steel.  Galvanize bearings according to 711.02 that are to be attached to concrete beams.

Coat metal parts of expansion joints with metalized 100% zinc wire.  Prepare the surface to be coated and apply coating as required by The Society of Protective Coatings SSPC-CS-23.00(1).  Apply coating to a minimum thickness of 6 mils.  Seal all metalized surfaces embedded or partially embedded in cast-in-place concrete with an epoxy coating meeting the requirements of 708.02 C.  Ensure that the sealer covers all peaks, valleys, and surface roughness attributed to metalizing.

Repair metalized coatings damaged during fabrication by removal of the damaged coating and reapplication as specified above.  Repair metalized or galvanized coatings damaged during shipping, construction, or field welding as specified above or as follows:

A.     Clean surface to be repaired using a wire brush, a light grinding action, or mild blasting.  Extend the surface cleaning into the surrounding undamaged metalized or galvanized coating.

B.      Remove all weld flux residue and weld splatter by mechanical means such as chipping, grinding, or power scaling.

C.     Preheat the surface to be repaired to at least 600 °F (315 °C).  Do not overheat the surface above 750 °F (400 °C) nor allow the surrounding metalized or galvanized coating to be burned.  Wire brush surfaces to be repaired during preheating.

D.     Apply zinc coating by rubbing with a pure zinc stick or sprinkling pure zinc powder on the preheated surface to achieve a minimum coating thickness of 6 mils.

516.04  Materials.  Furnish materials conforming to:

*    Fabricated by deforming a minimum of 20 percent of the embedded bolt surface with deformations whose radial dimensions are 15 to 20 percent of the bar diameter.

516.05  Expansion and Contraction Joints.  Ensure that expansion joints are completely open for the dimension specified for their full length.  Remove stones, forms, or other materials that interfere with expansion.

Finish the surface adjacent to preformed expansion joints to a smooth, uniform surface.  Use methods that do not interfere with the free compression of the joint material to anchor the expansion joint materials.  The joint material shall neatly fill the space, and have a uniform thickness for the full extent of the joint.

516.06  Joint Sealers.  Before applying joint sealer to the surface, clean the concrete of foreign matter, curing compounds, oil, grease, dirt, free water, and laitance and clean steel by sand blasting.

Apply joint sealer with a minimum depth of 1 inch (25 mm) at its thinnest section.  Fill joints to within 1/4 inch (6 mm) of the roadway surface.

Separate joint sealer from contact with asphalt concrete using a barrier of foil or other material that is impervious to the joint sealer.

As required to prevent bonding of the joint sealer with a joint surface, place a suitable bond breaker barrier before applying the joint sealer.

Remove joint sealer that did not bond to the joint face as intended within 24 hours after placing.  Clean the joint by sandblasting and reseal the joint.

Mix and place joint sealer according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Provide the Engineer with a copy of the manufacturer’s instructions.

Protect joint sealer with an impervious masking tape during the application of concrete protective coatings containing mineral spirits.

516.07  Bearing Devices.  For sliding plates, lubricate the sliding surfaces with flake graphite, and superimpose plates on each other with their edges flush.

Accurately set the level and alignment of elastomeric bearings, bearing plates, and bolsters.  Set bearing plates and bolsters on 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick sheet lead, conforming to 711.19, or on 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick preformed bearing pads, conforming to 711.21.

Set bearing plates or bolsters on bridge seat areas that are flat and smoothly finished.  If the bridge seat area is high or uneven, use a bushhammer or grinder followed by thin film of portland cement mortar or paste to fill the pitted surface to bring the seat area to the proper elevation and provide a level, even surface.  If the bridge seat area is low, use steel plate shims of the same bearing area as the bearing plates and bolsters to bring the seat area to the proper elevation.

Set elastomeric bearing pads directly on the concrete surface.

Position rockers, elastomeric bearings, and rollers so that, when the completed bridge is at 60 °F (16 °C), the rockers and elastomeric bearings are vertical and the rollers are centered on the base.

Set anchor bolts for bearing devices that are clear of the beam or girder flanges, in the concrete after erecting the main structural steel, except as specified below for bearing devices at abutments.  Place reinforcing steel in the bridge seat to not interfere with the drilling of anchor holes.  Accurately set anchor bolts in the holes and embed the anchor bolts in cement mortar.  Until the anchors’ are installed, prevent water from entering and or freezing in the anchor bolt holes.

If structural steel interferes with the setting of the anchor bolts, set the anchor bolts before erecting the steel.  The Contractor may determine the location of the bolts by using a template and form holes or embed the bolts when placing concrete or, drilling holes in the hardened concrete.

Permanently fasten bearing devices to the abutments, steel beams, or girders after backfilling the abutments to within 2 feet (0.6 m) of the top of the bridge seat.

516.08  Method of Measurement.  The Department will measure the specified items by the number of each, square feet (square meters), pounds (kilograms), or feet (meters) horizontally along the joint centerline and between the outer limits of the fabricated joint.

For deck resurfacing, the Department will measure Structural Steel Expansion Joints extending vertically by the actual horizontal length of joint.

516.09  Basis of Payment.  The Department will pay for accepted quantities at the contract prices as follows: