Investigation of cross-laminated (CLT) decks for bridge applications in the USA

Justin M. Dahlberg; Zhengyu Liu; James Wacker; Douglas R. Rammer

Treesearch

Investigation of cross-laminated (CLT) decks for bridge applications in the USA

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Justin M. Dahlberg, Zhengyu Liu, James Wacker, Douglas R. Rammer

Year:

2025

Type:

Paper

Station:

Forest Products Laboratory

Source:

International Conference on Timber Bridges

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Download (PDF 677 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/69596.pdf

Abstract

Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels have been primarily developed for the building industry. But there have been few instances where CLT panels have been used for bridge deck applications in North America. CLT is prefabricated, lightweight, dimensionally stable, and environmentally sustainable. The use of CLT in bridge structures has been limited and the adoption of CLT into governing bridge design codes has been slow-going in North America. The objective of this project was to investigate the feasibility of CLT as a primary structural material for highway bridge deck applications. To achieve the objective, two CLT interconnected deck panel configurations were investigated in the laboratory for their structural performance characteristics under simulated wheel loads. Configurations consisted of longitudinal deck panels that span the abutments and transverse deck panels supported by simply-supported longitudinal girders.

Keywords

CLT, laboratory tests, bridge deck, transverse panels, longitudinal panels, feasibility

Citation

Dahlberg, Justin M.; Liu, Zhengyu; Wacker, James P.; Rammer, Douglas R. 2025. Investigation of cross-laminated (CLT) decks for bridge applications in the USA. In: International Conference on Timber Bridges. Rotorua, New Zealand. June 29 to July 2, 2025. 10 p.