# Joint Load Transfer System Deterioration

Transverse crack or corner break developed as a result of joint dowels.

- Canonical URL: https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/pavement-management/pavement-distresses/joint-load-transfer-system-deterioration/
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Review: reviewed by licensed professional engineers on the previous Pavement Interactive site, where reviewers were not recorded by name

## Description

Transverse crack or [corner break](https://pavementinteractive.org/glossary/corner-break/) developed as a result of joint dowels.

![Dowel bar corrosion.](https://pavementinteractive.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Rebar_failure3.jpg)

![Patch over an area of dowel bar failure.](https://pavementinteractive.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Dowel_bar_failure.jpg)

*Figures 1 and 2.* Dowel bar corrosion. Patch over an area of dowel bar failure.

## Problem

Indicator of a failed load transfer system, [roughness](https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/pavement-management/pavement-evaluation/roughness/)

## Possible Causes

Load transfer [dowel bars](https://pavementinteractive.org/glossary/dowel-bar/) can fail for two principal reasons:

- **Corrosion**. If inadequately protected, dowel bars can corrode over time. The corrosion products occupy volume, which creates tensile stresses around the dowel bars, and a severely corroded dowel bar is weaker and may fail after repeated loading.
- **Misalignment**. Dowel bars inserted crooked or too close to the slab edge may create localized stresses high enough to break the slab. Misalignment can occur during original construction or during [dowel bar retrofits](https://pavementinteractive.org/glossary/dowel-bar-retrofit/).

## Repair

Removal and replacement of the affected joint load transfer system followed by a [full-depth patch](https://pavementinteractive.org/reference-desk/materials/portland-cement/portland-cement-strength/pcc-patching/) for affected area.