Epoxy Asphalt Concrete (EAC) Used to Repave the Fremont Bridge in Portland Oregon

The Fremont Bridge is steel tied arch bridge over the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. It carries traffic on Interstate 405 and US Highway 30 between downtown and north Portland. . The bridge was constructed in 1973, and the paving on the original steel deck consisted of epoxy asphalt concrete followed by an asphalt concrete overlay. The pavement performed for nearly 40 years before it needed to be replaced. In the summer of 2011, the existing pavement was removed and replaced using new epoxy asphalt followed by the wearing surface using 37.5 mm (1.5 inch) of hot mix asphalt. Initially the work was done at night, but because of the cool nighttime temperatures and the thin epoxy asphalt lift which limited compaction times, it was decided to complete the work during the day. Construction was challenging due to the thin lifts, the cool temperatures, and the winds that occurred during the paving operation. Despite the challenging conditions, the epoxy paving went well. This paper discusses the construction process including the mix design, as well as the QC/QA efforts. The initial performance of the paving is very good. The wearing surface was placed as a sacrificial layer because of the studded tire wear in pavements in the Pacific Northwest.