STEEL BRIDGE RESOURCE

STEEL SPAN
WEIGHT CURVES
 AISC © 2016

by

American Institute of Steel Construction

All rights reserved. This book or any part thereof

must not be reproduced in any form without the
written permission of the publisher.

The AISC and NSBA logos are registered trademarks of AISC.

The information presented in this publication has been prepared in accordance with recognized en-
gineering principles. While it is believed to be accurate, this information should not be used or relied
upon for any specific application without competent professional examination and verification of
its accuracy, suitability and applicability by a licensed professional engineer, designer, or architect.
The publication of the material contained herein is not intended as a representation or warranty on
the part of the American Institute of Steel Construction or of any other person named herein, that
this information is suitable for any general or particular use or of freedom from infringement of any
patent or patents. Anyone making use of this information assumes all liability arising from such use.

Caution must be exercised when relying upon other specifications and codes developed by other
bodies and incorporated by reference herein since such material may be modified or amended from
time to time subsequent to the printing of this edition. The American Institute of Steel Construction
bears no responsibility for such material other than to refer to it and incorporate it by reference at
the time of the initial publication of this edition.

Printed in the United States of America

 STEEL SPAN
WEIGHT CURVES

The National Steel Bridge Alliance strives to deliver high quality information for use by departments
of transportation and designers alike. To that end, NSBA has created a series of steel bridge design
resources. The information in these resources was developed by NSBA staff in conjunction with in-
dustry professionals. The resources are intended to serve as a starting point for steel bridge design.

Steel Span Weight Curves is the first of these design aids. We plan to periodically update and refine
the information in these resources based on the feedback we receive from designers, owners and
constructors.

NSBA is proud of the steel bridge industry and looks forward to maintaining its tradition of excel-
lence in steel bridge construction.

Bill McEleney
Managing Director
National Steel Bridge Alliance
 About the Span Curves
These graphical design aids are intended to be used during the preliminary phases of design for evaluation of alter-
native structures to quickly determine the relative costs of various girder spacings and number of girder spans. The
curves have been constructed from cost-effective conceptual solutions that NSBA has prepared. They represent the
predicted pounds of steel per square foot for various span lengths and girder spacings for single spans, two spans,
and three or more spans.

Design Parameters
These curves represent predicted pounds of steel per square foot derived from data from more than 800 NSBA con-
ceptual solutions optimized for economical bridge designs. Every bridge is unique and other factors can influence
the design, resulting in values outside the ranges shown in these curves. Care should be taken to ensure that an
appropriate analysis is conducted. The figure below represents a typical bridge section view.

OVERALL BRIDGE WIDTH

PARAPET SHOULDER TOTAL LANE(S) WIDTH SHOULDER PARAPET

WIDTH WIDTH

WEARING
SURFACE
BRIDGE
DECK

BRIDGE GIRDER (TYP)

OVERHANG GIRDER SPACING (VARIES) OVERHANG

(VARIES) (VARIES)

TYPICAL BRIDGE SECTION

N.T.S.

Assumptions
• Section is designed as composite.
• Girders are assumed continuous.
• Design considers fatigue loading.
• Span lengths are based upon the maximum span distance. Where more than one span exists, use the maxi-
mum span to determine span weight.
• Trend line value represents the line of best fit based upon the discrete values.
• Shaded area represents deck areas in which 68% of the sample bridges are located.
• Both curved and straight girders are included in the curves.

NSBA STEEL SPAN WEIGHT CURVES 1

Single-Span Bridges

Single Span — All Girder Spacing

160

140
Steel weight per square foot of

120
bridge deck surface (psf)

100

80

60

40

20

0
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350
Span (ft)

Trendline

Single Span — 7' to 9' Girder Spacing

160

140
Steel weight per square foot of

120
bridge deck surface (psf)

100

80

60

40

20

0
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350
Span (ft)

Trendline

2 NSBA STEEL SPAN WEIGHT CURVES

 Single-Span Bridges

Single Span — 9' to 11' Girder Spacing

90

80
Steel weight per square foot of

70
bridge deck surface (psf)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275
Span (ft)

Trendline

Single Span — 11' and Greater Girder Spacing

90

80
Steel weight per square foot of

70
bridge deck surface (psf)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275
Span (ft)

Trendline

NSBA STEEL SPAN WEIGHT CURVES 3

Two-Span Bridges

Two Span — All Girder Spacing

120
Steel weight per square foot of bridge deck surface (psf)

100

80

60

40

20

0
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350
Span (ft)

Trendline

Two Span — 7' to 9' Girder Spacing

60
Steel weight per square foot of bridge deck surface (psf)

50

40

30

20

10

0
50 75 100 125 150 175
Span (ft)

Trendline

4 NSBA STEEL SPAN WEIGHT CURVES

 Two-Span Bridges

Two Span — 9' to 11' Girder Spacing

60
Steel weight per square foot of bridge deck surface (psf)

50

40

30

20

10

0
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
Span (ft)

Trendline

Two Span — 11' and Greater Girder Spacing

60
Steel weight per square foot of bridge deck surface (psf)

50

40

30

20

10

0
50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225
Span (ft)

Trendline

NSBA STEEL SPAN WEIGHT CURVES 5

Three-or-More-Span Bridges

Three or More Spans — All Girder Spacing

90
Steel weight per square foot of bridge deck surface (psf)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
50 75 100 110 115 125 135 150 165 175 200 220 230 250 275 300 325 350 400 450
Span (ft)

Trendline

Three or More Spans — 7' to 9' Girder Spacing

90
Steel weight per square foot of bridge deck surface (psf)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
50 75 100 125 135 150 175 200 230 250 275 300
Span (ft)

Trendline

6 NSBA STEEL SPAN WEIGHT CURVES

 Three-or-More-Span Bridges

Three or More Spans — 9' to 11' Girder Spacing

90
Steel weight per square foot of bridge deck surface (psf)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
50 75 100 110 125 135 150 165 175 200 220 250 275 300 325 350 375
Span (ft)

Trendline

Three or More Spans — 11' and Greater Girder Spacing

90
Steel weight per square foot of bridge deck surface (psf)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
100 125 135 150 165 175 200 220 230 250 275 300 325 350 425 450
Span (ft)

Trendline

NSBA STEEL SPAN WEIGHT CURVES 7

Steel: The Bridge Material of Choice.

National Steel Bridge Alliance

(a division of American Institute of Steel Construction)
One East Wacker Drive, Suite 700
Chicago, Illinois 60601

312.670.2400 www.steelbridges.org NSBA-021