Due to design using older codes, material degradation and increased traffic loads, numerous reinforced concrete bridge members, such as beams and slabs, have insufficient shear capacity and need shear strengthening. An efficient shear strengthening technique consists of adding drilled-in vertical reinforcing bars within the existing concrete member and to bond these bars to the concrete with high-strength epoxy adhesive. However, the shear design method prescribed by the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code for members with stirrups may overestimate the shear capacity of shear strengthened members with epoxy-bonded bars. This paper presents the effect of bonded shear reinforcement on shear resistance mechanisms and summarizes a proposed shear design method developed for reinforced concrete members with epoxy-bonded shear reinforcement
