At present, the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) Bridge Design Manual allows engineers to use the AASHTO empirical method to design concrete bridge decks. However, the ITD Bridge Section would like to compare their design practices to those employed by other state DOTs. The Bridge Section is also interested in the ability of the empirical deck design method to control deck cracking. AASHTO's empirical deck design method and traditional design method are summarized. We reviewed the literature regarding the effect of bridge deck design methodology on deck cracking. Many researchers agree that the empirical bridge deck design method needs to be modified to limit cracking. For example, Frosch and Radabaugh believe that the empirical method does not require a large enough reinforcement ratio to adequately control cracking. Others such as Krauss believe that the deck-to-girder stiffness has a greater effect on deck cracking and should be increased in the empirical method. We also surveyed bridge deck design methods and typical deck designs for all of the states in the U.S. Bridge deck properties such as deck thickness, rebar size and rebar spacing from other states were compared to those specified by ITD. Most states and Canada use a significantly smaller spacing and larger reinforcement bar size. We believe that reducing the spacing and increasing the size of rebar would mitigate ITD's deck cracking problem, although the degree to which deck crack spacing and width would be mitigated would require further research.