Memorandum

TO:	All Design Section Staff
FROM:	J. Kapur
DATE:	July 23, 2002
SUBJECT:	S-I-P Precast Concrete Deck Panel

Composite deck slab system consisting of  Stay-In-Place precast concrete deck panels combined with cast-in-place concrete topping may be used on WSDOT bridges upon Region’s request and Bridge and Structures Office approval. 

 The use of S-I-P deck panels for bridge decks shall be investigated at the preliminary design stage.  A minimum slab thickness of  8.5 inches, including 3.5 inch precast deck panel and 5.0 inch cast-in-place concrete topping, shall be specified for design if S-I-P deck panels are considered for the bridge deck.  The acceptance evaluation will consider such items as extra weight for seismic design and the resulting substructure impacts.

 Background:

The composite deck system consisting of precast prestressed concrete deck panels with a cast-in-place topping has advantages in minimizing traffic disruption, speeding up construction and solving constructability issues on certain projects.  Contractors, in most cases, prefer this composite deck panel system for bridge decks in traffic congested areas and other specific cases.

 The conventional full-depth cast-in-place deck slab continues to be preferred by the Bridge and Structures Office for most applications. 

 If you have any questions regarding these issues, please contact Bijan Khaleghi at

705-7181.

 JK:dsb

BK

 cc:      J. Weigel - 47340

         F. Higgins - 47340