Strengthening effects evaluation on fatigue damage of rib to deck joint in orthotropic steel deck

•A lightweight CFRP prestressed reinforcement method for the rib to deck joint of orthotropic steel decks (OSDs) was proposed.•The strengthening effects of various strengthening methods on the fatigue crack propagation of rib to deck joint in OSDs were compared.•The reinforcement effect of the proposed CFRP prestressed reinforcement method on the rib to deck joints with different crack sizes was analyzed.