BRIDGES

Bridges are designed to facilitate the safe crossing of pedestrians and vehicles over natural and
man-made obstacles such as rivers, valleys, roads, canals and railways.

Performance requirements

In order to provide the facility of safe crossing the bridge must

 Be able to span between supports safely and economically and support the dead loading
which will be applied in the form of traffic both in the immediate and in the reasonably
foreseeable future;
 Provide sufficient clearance beneath to allow other forms of traffic to pass with
reasonable freedom;
 Have stable supports so that no sinking at the ends of a span will take place;
 Be able to withstand the dynamic loading resulting from
(i) vehicular movement across the span,
(ii) water flow around the supports.
(iii) wind pressures, since the structure may be in an exposed situation;
 Be durable since, once a bridge is provided, the population tend to rely on it because the
alternatives are too costly in terms of time, money, or inconvenience.
 Be large enough to cater for the anticipated volume of traffic. A large number of traffic
hold-ups result from bridges, many of them built before the twentieth century, being
incapable of carrying the volume of present traffic;
 Have a pleasing appearance so as to blend with its surroundings and not become an
eyesore;
 Be protected from degradation as a result of weather or the wear and tear of the
traffic using it.

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  Further requirements include ease of maintenance. The Forth railway bridge with its
continuous painting programme is a poor example of meeting this requirement;
 Accommodation of services having provided the means of bridging an obstacle, it is
sound economics to make full use of the facility;
 The ability to flex and take up small movement the longer spans will need to be able to
expand and contract as well as to flex as a result of the changing loading conditions;
 The provision of safety features such as lighting, barriers, rain-water drainage, etc.

Components
Abutment The side support at the banks providing a resistance to
both horizontal and vertical forces imposed on a bridge.
Stability is achieved by self weight or ground anchors.
Anchor(age) Heavy mass concrete block used to anchor suspension
cables or cantilever arms.
Arch Vertical curved beam used to carry heavy loads across
supports.
Bearing Support between the deck and pier or abutment which
carries the weight of the bridge.
Bolster See 'Bearing'.
Catenary The curve which a uniformly loaded cable takes up when hung between two
points, e.g. on a suspension bridge.
Deck That part of the bridge which carries the traffic loads and
spreads them to the main structural supports.
Ground anchor Anchorage for surface structures provided by drilling
holes into the ground, inserting rods or cables, and
grouting them in.
Piers Intermediate supports between abutments, founded on
firm ground.

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 Structural components

Portals Towers providing high-level support to suspension cables.

Truss Framework supporting bridge loads above the deck level.
Wing walls Side walls which retain an embankment.

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 Bridge construction

The methods of bridge construction vary from site to site and contractor to contractor. They are
also dictated by many factors which include the size of the spans; the materials to be used; the
restrictions imposed by the location of the site, its topography, and access limitations; the
structural design principles; and usage of the area over which the bridge spans. However,
whatever methods are used, they may be broken down into five distinct sections:

a) founding the piers and abutments;

b) construction of those piers, abutments, and portals;
c) provision of the structural span;
d) construction of the deck;
e) provision of the wearing surface;

An example of constructing a simple flat slab bridge carrying a minor road

over a stream will serve to illustrate the problems and construction principles
involved.

a) The founding of the abutments will depend on the nature of the strata, both of the banks of
the stream and of the stream bed. The construction of the abutment will be affected by the
velocity of the water flow, its change in level resulting from weather conditions, and the effects
of scour action around any temporary works.
In order to provide a dry area in which to construct the foundation, interlocking sheet-steel piles
could be driven around the foundation area from the bank on one side of the stream, to a depth
suitable to prevent water entry. The foundations may then be excavated and constructed in dry
working conditions.

b) construction of those piers, abutments, and portals;

The abutment must not only support the bridge but must also act as a retaining wall to prevent
the carriageway falling into the stream. This prevention must he not only along the line of the
road but also at right angles to it, which may require the extension of the abutment for widths
greater than those required for the carriageway construction, or the use of wing walls. The
abutments may be constructed of stone, brick, or, more usually, in-situ reinforced concrete. In
the latter case the interlocking sheet piles could be used as permanent shuttering, thus saving
costs and at the same time protecting the concrete below the level of the stream from various
harmful effects such as scour, erosion, and sulphate attack. A facing of other material may be
applied to the concrete abutment in order to improve the appearance, while at the rear a
protective coating of bridge construction bituminous paint is applied to the vertical face and a
land-drainage system is incorporated in order to reduce the horizontal thrusts due to wet backfill
material against the retaining wall

c) provision of the structural span;

In the case of small-span bridges, the structural span consists of precast, prestressed, concrete
beams having various cross-sectional shapes. These beams are brought to the site by road and are
lifted into position by a mobile crane. The tops of the abutments are rebated to form the bearing
for the beams to seat on. Depending on the method of structural design, the bearing may
incorporate facilities for movement, thus allowing for expansion, contraction, creep, and flexure.

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 d) construction of the deck;
d) The deck generally comprises an in-situ reinforce d-concrete topping to the precast beams.
This topping provides the base for the. carriageway construction as well as linking the beams
into an integral unit, housing the various services (in ducts for ease of repair, maintenance, etc.),
and providing anchorage for guard rails, barriers, lamp posts, and traffic signs.
The deck is cast in a similar manner to the concrete slabs described in earlier lessons.
Alternatively, a rigid construction may be achieved by casting the beams and deck in-situ and
linking them as an integral unit with the abutment. This in-situ work can provide additional
construction problems in providing the soffit formwork with adequate support over the stream
bed.

e) The wearing surfaces to both the carriageway and the footway are constructed in a similar
manner to those detailed for a road. Provision for surface water may be either to a sewer or, in
appropriate cases, a direct discharge into the stream below.

Where movement joints are incorporated into the structure there must be a similar facility in the
wearing surface. This is provided by means of specially designed steel shoes which keep the two
wearing surfaces apart while at the same time preventing the entry of dirt and water into the
main structure.

While only one basic form of bridge construction has been outlined, the problems associated
with any simple bridge construction can be appreciated and their solution resolved for a given set
of circumstances.

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