Bridges without joints or bearings, termed integral bridges, are superior to conventional bridges in various aspects. Joints and bearings are always potential weak points, and eliminating them will thus have a beneficial effect on durability and maintenance costs. Moreover, in many cases the collapse load of the entire system is improved, which is important with regards to the redundancy against unforeseen loadings.

On the other hand, integral bridges are per definition statically indeterminate structures, and temperature variations, support deformations, prestressing and long term effects will thus generally result in undesired restraint actions – particularly axial forces – difficult to quantify. Therefore, joints and bearings have until recently been arranged without further considerations.