and engineers involved that the deck planks that were subject
to the cracks came under stress that had to be studied. These
deck planks were rejected even in the preliminary testing’s,
this is one area in which the users of prestressed, precast
concrete deck plank users will have to focus on, as the
apparent rejection rates for the number of planks made in this
method is higher than the normal rates. Secondly it was seen
that the load test was critical in determining the acceptance
for the deck planks and their usages. A few modifications can
then be created based on the load test and these modifications
helped assess and also control the number of deck planks that
would need to be recreated.
In the case of the PPC deck planks that were used, one
more thing was noticed which was that the planks were seen
to not hold up well under the pour and then the blow out
stage, it was seen to be holding strong only when the steam
process was also used as an additional element. This is hence
one element in construction that the users of deck plank
bridges of prestressed and precast types have to be aware of.
There is always an element of cost involved in
construction. In construction, the cost element is often
ratified as being one of the critical choices. However as per
the case study it was noted that the PPC deck plank might not
have in fact helped much in saving of the money. In fact it
was noticed that the time and cost was more or less the same,
and in addition it was also noticed that the cast in plan
bridges could have been used just the same, as the deck plank
bridges also demanded additional costing in terms of
covering up of the transverse cracks in construction.